|  Tuesday, February 10, 2009
my brightest diamond
a thousand shark's teeth
  
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Classical music for the masses. This is what Shara Wardon, more commonly known as My Brightest Diamond, brings to us on her latest album, A Thousand Shark's Teeth (Asthmatic Kitty). Don't get me wrong; this isn't music your grandfather will listen to. It is simply music that is overflowing with lush and intricate instrumentation resulting in an album that is not only remarkable, but also a musical gem.
"We are stars colliding/ Oh we crash like lightning, into love", sings Shara on the album's epic opening track, "Inside a Boy". This and another track entitled "The Ice & the Storm" kick the album off to a thunderous start. Upon hearing Shara's operatic voice melding so beautifully with the strings, the scope of what listeners are getting into becomes clear. A Thousand Shark's Teeth is a composition by one of today's most talented singer/songwriters.
There is a mysterious element that unfolds throughout this album. While listening to songs like "From the Top of the World" and "Like a Sieve" one gets the feeling they're exploring the unknown. Stars and planets are just some of the other-worldly things Shara references in order to get her points across. On "To Pluto's Moon" Shara sings, "How I tried to catch you while you ran ahead of me/ I lassoed mars to see if you were hiding there/ But you'd already ran past Jupiter to Pluto's moon", using planets to describe the evasive and potentially maddening effects of love.
There are also common elements tying together the tracks on this album. Whether it's the dark & eerie feelings evoked on "Black & Costaud" or the jittery romance of "Apple", the album is laden with emotion. This is aided by the orchestration or more specifically, the string section, which elevates the songs to a whole new plateau of sensitivity.
Visceral lyrics like these and emotive instrumentation make A Thousand Shark's Teeth a pleasure for not only your ears but your heart as well. And if you close your eyes while listening you just may be able to feel those thousand prickling shark's teeth that Shara so eloquently describes. -Greg Lozoff
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