Bodega Rose

Born and raised in a multi-cultural household in Woodstock, NY, Kesang Marstrand had been writing and playing music for ten years by the time she recorded her album Bodega Rose, and even though it's her first full-length release, she displays the intelligence and polished skills of a seasoned musical veteran on these sessions. Marstrand's songwriting style suggests an updated variation on classic era singer/songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro, deftly drawing eloquent emotional sketches with her words, while her vocals boast the sensuous undertones of a jazz artist, a feeling reinforced by the artfully unobtrusive arrangements (which feature Karl Berger on piano and vibraphone). Bodega Rose occasionally recalls Norah Jones' early work, not so much that Jones appears to be an influence but simply because Marstrand has a similarly effortless gift as a vocalist and performs with an easy grace and confidence that make this music sound second nature to her. Along with 11 fine originals, Marstrand also includes a cover of the Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney hit "Say Say Say," and she reveals an impressive gift as an interpretive singer, finding some unexpectedly potent edges in a song that in its original form sounded like well-crafted fluff. Bodega Rose's greatest strength is its simplicity — it's the work of an unusually gifted singer and composer that gives her plenty of space to show off her talents, and whatever else is here adds to the songs, rather than distracting from her performance. It's a superb debut, and a clean, sharply focused portrait of an artist with an impressive degree of potential.