Only As Long As The Day - Another Beautiful Release from Sera Cahoone

Sera Cahoone has produced a lot of buzz in this city and outside, and for good reason - she’s a marvel. An artist you’re bound to carry forward as a classic favorite. Her music is timeless, and will be as appreciated twenty years down the road as it is today. Hers is sweet melody and melancholy, folk and country intertwined. The kind of music that is lovely and quaint, and at times bittersweet. There’s a hint of sorrow that looms throughout many of her songs, and if she weren’t backed by such a gregarious and upbeat group of musicians on stage – who all jive so very well together – one would draw a certain loneliness from her music.

I recently saw Cahoone and band perform a stunning show opening for equally fantastic Grand Archives at Triple Door. Tomorrow, she’ll perform at Easy Street Records to promote the release of her new album, Only As Long As the Day, her sophomore release, though first release on Subpop (I still haven’t figured out how her first album managed to slip through the cracks and go self-released). The Triple Door performance was powerful, though I hold dear the fact we Seattleites have an opportunity to see Cahoone up close, solo(?) in such an intimate and interactive setting tomorrow evening. She’s one of the great local artists/bands redefining Seattle’s sound(s) and contributing to another epic era of Seattle music that’s on the verge of exploding already.

Her new album is rich in various string as well as soft country twang. The banjo and pedal steel are beautiful value-add to an already gorgeous and fluid sound Cahoone resonates on her own. The album sets the listener into a relaxed, though at times unsettled (her lyrics have an ability to set one off guard), state of calm and contemplation. There is depth in her lyrics that unleash self-reflection and sorrow. She is practical and direct with words, and her songwriting provides a glimpse into an introspective and philosophical soul. Her voice is beautiful, gentle, smooth, and as natural as the color green in the Pacific Northwest. Her songs often reach sad story and heartbreak territory, and judging by her lyrics, one gathers she has broken a few hearts along her way.

All in all, her second release provides another (in addition to her first) harmonious coordination of acoustics, melody, and rhythm that produce a fresh and colorful sound. Here is an artist one is bound to gravitate and hold on to. We all know the kind.

Sera Cahoone – Only As Long As The Day is out March 18th. She will be performing at Easy Street Records free at 7pm the same day. Her CD release is on March 29th at the Tractor Tavern.

Sera Cahoone’s abbreviated history:
• Played drums for Seattle band Carissa’s Wierd from 1995 to 2003
• Sera contributed on drums to Band of Horses debut album (which was formed by Ben Bridwell who was also in Carissa’s Wierd)

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