
SXSW The Living Sisters When The Living Sisters hit the stage at the Paste/Vanguard/Sugar Hill party at The Belmont, there was a slight change of line-up. Inara George, who is pregnant (and expecting very soon!) couldn't make the trip to Austin. However, girls remained a trio, with Alex Lily (of Obi Best ) filling in as a "step-sister". We missed Inara, but Alex did a phenomenal job standing in, her crystalline voice blending gorgeously with Becky Stark's and Eleni Mandell's. [...]
April Smith and band rolled into the rainy Pacific Northwest last month bringing to our sun deprived faces some of her sunny radiant and up beat music from her recently released album, 'Songs For A Sinking Ship'. April with her equally saucy and powerful voice is definitely a rare find in today's pop music. The song, "Colors" is a stand out in her performance as she sings and illustrates one side of a long-distance relationship which doesn't lament over the isolation but instead looks to the future both a plea for the separation to end and a promise to remain [...]
We've followed the rise of Brooklyn's April Smith & The Great Picture Show for a few years now, catching her striking live performances from Philly to Austin and listening as her sound has evolved from hearty and hooky indie rock to a more distinctive theatrical mix of sassy and swinging retro pop, raggedy ragtime and what April calls "vocally-driven- cinemelodic rock". With a voice that swoops and soars with reckless but pitch perfect abandon, Smith transcends contemporary borders with a jaunty beat, carnival organ, and jangling guitar edge melded [...]