Rise & Review Shine Monday: Rebecca Pronsky and Delphia Blize

Every Monday morning I feature one album submitted to me through ReviewShine, but, once again, my inbox is overflowing with submissions. So, this week I'm featuring a couple of albums that have caught my ear...

First, I would like to start with Brooklyn native, Rebecca Pronsky's second album, Viewfinder. The opening song, "Hard Times," is an instant attention-getter and country hit. It aptly introduces the album’s solid country influence and overall theme of lost innocence, cold reality, doubt and relationships. Its strong and rather menacing twangy opening guitar line and galloping rhythm intensifies the serious warning that could apply to a friend or as a smart and relevant allegory on the current economic situation. “Day of the Dead” continues the foreboding country influence while “Give Up Easily” gives a bubbly 80s vibe which could be attributed to her childhood. And, in spite of the seemingly sad tale of a woman who is neither someone’s wife nor someone’s daughter in “Mercury News” there is an upbeat tempo and powerful vocals. I should also note that in the past, Rebecca has been praised for her jazz-trained voice which is evident in the smoldering “The Wheel” and the sensitive yet strong “Fragile World.” Unquestionably, these are just a few songs that make Viewfinder one of the finest singer-songwriter records of 2011.

Download Viewfinder via Bandcamp
Rebecca Pronsky's Website
Nine Mile Records

01 Hard Times - Rebecca Pronsky by commonfolkmusic

Minneapolis singer-songwriter, Delphia Blize, has self-released her debut album West River which features contributions from musicians like Jonathan Kingham (Shawn Colvin, David Wilcox), John Munson (Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare), Jacqueline Ultan (Jelloslave) and Darren Jackson (Kid Dakota). Raised in Boston and in a small town in Vermont, Delphia named the album for the West River in Vermont. After going to college in Minnesota, she settled down in Minneapolis where she found her musical niche and won an award for best song in 2009's Women in Music MN. West River is unrefined yet well-done with down-to-earth songs about love, loss, and faith that are wise, honest, and sometimes sad while its quiet and sparse instrumentation gently surrounds Delphia's delicate vocals. Its a great debut album from a folk musician with a lot of promise and heart.

Purchase West River
Delphia Blize's Website

01 Seventeen Miles - Delphia Blize by commonfolkmusic