Sia Lady Croissant CD

Personnel: Dan Carey (guitar, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards); William Gus Seyffert (guitar); Joe Kennedy (keyboards); Felix Bloxsom, Joey Waronker (drums).
Audio Mixers: Taz Mattar; Tom Elmhirst; Joey Lemon.
Recording information: Joel Shearers Studio, Los Angeles, CA (04/17/2006); The Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (04/17/2006).
Photographers: Stephanie Pistel; Michael Sendaydiego; Jeff Tweedy; Jose Gonzalez.
Since catching her break as a backup vocalist for Jamiroquai, and appearing on records by Zero7 and Massive Attack, Sia Furler has embarked on a fruitful solo career, garnering not only critical acclaim, but several U.K. top-10 singles. LADY CROISSANT, a live document of her April 2006 performance at New York's Bowery Ballroom, contains material from her first two albums, as well as tracks that appeared on Zero7's SIMPLE THINGS. The band provides a low-key backdrop for Furler's rich and powerful voice. While the material--an eclectic mix of R&B and Jazz--is warm, melodic and inviting, Sia adds just a hint of sorrow and raw emotion, which helps her stand apart from milquetoast acts that pass for adult alternative music in the 2000's.
Called a "mini-album" by her label, Astralwerks, Sia's Lady Croissant is a collection of eight live tracks (from her April 2006 performance in New York's Bowery Ballroom) and one new studio track, the darkly bubbly single, "Pictures." The recordings sound good, the band (bass, cello, drums, guitar, and keys) tight and lush, and Sia herself is spot-on, her vocals rich and passionate. The set here is short (and the actual concert wasn't much longer), but the singer pulls material from both Healing Is Difficult and Colour the Small One (including "Breathe Me," featured in the popular television show Six Feet Under's series finale) as well as two tracks, "Destiny" and "Distractions," from Zero 7's Simple Things (Garden wouldn't come out until June, so unfortunately her contributions to that album aren't included here). There's a song of hers called "Lentil," the only one she introduces by name here, and a Cher/Pretenders -- with inspirational credit given to the latter -- cover (written by Ray Davies), "I Go to Sleep." Sia, her voice, her style, hearken back to the late '90s, drawing comparisons to early Nelly Furtado and Morley, but the music here, her music, doesn't seem dated or unhip. It's very modern, warm and melodic and cleanly intricate, and shows off Sia's talents well, making Lady Croissant an important listen for her fans, and enough to sway those less familiar with her work into checking out what else she has to offer. ~ Marisa Brown