Customer Reviews

To Survive

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the kooky band name remains, Joan Wasser's second album sees the classically trained, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist moving confidently away from the "alternativeness" of her 2006 debut and into richly melodic terrain.
The smart, dark voice she found with Antony and the Johnsons and on tour with Rufus Wainwright swirls elegantly around melancholic piano ballads and heartening brass-funky closing-time soul numbers.
The follow-up to 2006's "Real Life" is a comparatively stripped-down affair, the singer preferring to leave her songs less encumbered by elaborate arrangements.
The exception is "Magpies", on which the string and horn counterpoints and backing vocals throw the serpentine melody away from the song's centre.
"To Be Lonely" is a subtle splendour, Wasser's voice curling around a simple piano melody, while the arrangement of "To America" has shades of Kurt Weill, aptly so given its subtext of capitalist corruption: this is the closing track that really bursts out of the collection. An opus to her homeland which is at once both indignant and celebratory, it features Rufus Wainwright and could easily stand as a sister piece to his own "Going To A Town".
The equally impressive "Hard White Wall", is a meandering delight that peaks and troughs in thrilling style.
Joan Wasser had plenty to do to equal the brilliance of her debut, but in "To Survive", she has done just that, cementing her status as as an intriguing and compelling artist.
Imagine a subtle mix of Roberta Flack and Kate Bush, with a 21st-century lyrical sensibility, and you're pretty close to the core of a woman who believes that "beauty is the new punk rock".
It may be dripping in melancholy, as many of the songs were partly inspired by her mother's death from cancer, but there's a heart-melting quality about this new collection of songs that's only best appreciated after a few listens.
It's a slow-building, but ultimately very lively, horn-inflicted final salvo that ensures you depart the album with the right kind of feelgood glow.
If you have yet to discover the delights of Joan As Police Woman, then "To Survive" is a suitably impressive entry point.
My picks: "To Be Loved", "Start Of My Heart", "Hard White Wall", "Furious, Holiday".

The name of Joan Wasser's band comes from her supposed resemblance to Angie Dickinson in the Seventies TV show "Police Woman". But that is where the daftness ends.
This is bracingly fresh contemporary bluesy jazz.
Two years on from Joan As Policewoman's startling debut, success has been bittersweet for the backing singer-turned-indie heroine Joan W.
Following the loss of her mother from cancer, she eulogises love in a trembling voice and with a tear-stained smile.
Her emotion-rich songs have become tender affirmations, such as the hope-sprinkled "Honor My Wishes".
And the needling guitar, soulful brass and gothic piano of her "punk rock R&B" are more evocative than ever.
"Holiday" flitting up the scales like a musical honey bee in search of pop pollen, recalling Joni Mitchell's "Hissing Of Summer Lawns".
"To Be Loved" is ecstatically soppy, deliberately contrasting with the solemnity of the following tune, "To Be Lonely".
Cascading harmonies and chimes soften the wheezing of intrusive synths. You can hear old friend Rufus Wainwright passing the torch to a woman who's not just surviving, but flourishing.
Standouts: "Holiday" and "To America".

Joan Wasser's voice is beautiful and the songs on this album are just about as good as those on the first Joan As Police Woman record. Any fan of Cat Power or Beth Orton will really enjoy Joan As Police Woman. Highly recommended.

Maybe I'm getting old, but there hasn't been much in rock or pop music since about 1994 that I have found worthy of any notice. Elliott Smith and the Eels are among the rare exceptions. But this may well be the best of the lot. Great stuff.

Joan's last album Real Life showcased elements of "punk," soul, and classical flourishes. No small feat considering it was her debut. Now her sophomore album has arrived. Though it is a more uniform and organic affair, it never strays from being nakedly honest and deeply touching. To Survive leans more in the direction of New York jazz-folk-pop, yet still features startlingly intimate piano ballads such as "To Be Lonely." Through the introspective sophistication there's a sense of rugged yearning. The album's full band highlights revolve around unconventional chord changes ("Holiday," "Magpies") and adhere little to well-trodden song structure. The vocal melodies are subtle and appropriate for each song, making this beautifully delivered album one of the best of the year and worth heavy repeated listening (for fans of mellow, artful music).

Joan Wasser (aka 'Joan As Policewoman') has produced a simply outstandingly crafted first solo album. Her songs are poetic, personal, quirky and full of clever retro references. There is no mainstream category for this highly original alternative rock/soul work and, refreshingly, no ego in the presentation. The pre-Raphaelite looking portrait cover offers no name, no title. Find a minimal, almost dismissive, 'all songs written by Joan Wasser' hiding on the back. Repeat listening is needed to get below the production surface of the songs. Wasser's multi-instrumental, vocal and songwriting talents are really impressive. The longing, spacey `Start of My Heart' is my favorite on an album brimming with reflective but never maudlin tracks.

I suppose never having been into Jeff Buckley I'd never heard of Joan Wasser until reading a recent magazine article which made me sufficiently curious to buy this disc.
My curiousity was further aroused when I saw credits on the album to both David Sylvian (who I like) & Rufus Wainwright (who I keep being told I ought to like).
Overall this really is highly sophisticated & generally "melancholic" adult chanteuse-style vocal music with excellent arrangements & performances. From the opening "Honor my wishes" (a collaboration with Sylvian) virtually every song here is a winner, with compelling lyrics, strong arrangements (Joan does most of the accompanying instrumental work on mainly piano &/or guitar herself) & an alluring, magnetic voice.
Highlights are "(I'm so happy) To be Loved" - a real microcosm of all hat's good about this album - no nonsense arrangement (really tasteful spare underlying guitar), simple yet meaningful lyrics & good colour/change of tone towards the end; "Magpies", with its excellent horn arrangements & "Hard White Wall" - an excellent up-tempo, rather edgy number ("I'm watching you become a man....a wild & chancing dragon stepping into my better life without a scene out of place.....you're my hard white wall"!!).
After hearing this I'll definitely be checking out "Real Life".
Highly recommended!

I've only had the chance to listen to this album twice, but I like it already. The songs delve into emotions quite deeply and the singing is natural, unforced and expressive. The piano playing is tasteful and the music is well recorded.

Musical genius, David Sylvian and the talented Rufus Wainwright contribute to this album. I hope Sylvian and Wainwright collaborate some time, too!

Joan's album is a very good one and I will look forward to her future releases.

Joan and I were classmates in college, and I am so thrilled that she is making such wonderful music! This new CD is beautiful in every way.....sonically, vocally, musically, and in sentiment as well. She has become a very intimate musician.....when I listen to the CD, it is almost as if I am sitting in the room, a fly on the wall, peeking in on her life and work.

I urge anyone who does not yet know of Joan as Policewoman to pick up this cd. She is an artist who will intrigue and never disappoint!

First of all, I had never heard of Joan as Policewoman before. But I was trawling through Amazon's Music collection and came across it. What a find...haunting and beautiful, this is a superb album. I play it lots.....Highly recommended, but not for metal heads.