Casey Dienel: Wind-up Canary

Oh women and their pianos, will you ever not be a weakness of mine?

After taking a look at the music section in the Boston Globe, I found a note that Ms. Dienel (a former Boston native) would be playing in town. Well, gee, she looked cute, and that was enough for me to check out her myspace page. Which led me to the opening track of Doctor Monroe. Four notes in, I was sold. I hadn't even heard her voice but I knew, somehow, it would be good.

And so it continued. Wind-up Canary is 12 tracks spanning just shy of 50 minutes, and contains a lot of the playfulness that a similar songstress uses, that being Nellie McKay.

Unlike your standard woman-at-a-piano music, Dienel's work isn't just about longing, pain, and heartbreak, but also some fun narratives and keen observations. Plus, she ends up involving a banjo at one point, and I can't lie: I'm a sucker for a banjo.

Doctor Monroe, Baby James, Frankie and Annette (and, please, tell me you don't here the Ballad of Brenda and Eddie hidden in there), and All or Nothing are, perhaps, the most telling tracks of both the albums seriousness and light-heartedness.

In the end: I've got room in my heart for another Boston gal, and Casey happened to slide on in. This may not be Grammy award winning music, but it's fun, it's enjoyable, and it's better than the shit that does win Grammys. To me, that says "good record."

On the web: Behold the power of MySpace. And if that frightens you, there's always her Official site.

Technorati Tagged: Casey Dienel | Female Vocalists | Piano | 2007