REDUX '11: Emm Gryner

Emm Gryner - Accomplished Canadian songwriter has been making exceptional music for more than fifteen years, combining confessional piano (sm)art/pop melodies, Lilith-Fair-era folk musings and, lately, brisk, radio-friendly tunecraft...Bono once named her "Almighty Love" as one of six songs he'd written over the last 20 years...new project, produced by early Gryner collaborator Stuart Brawley (Emmy Rossum), is a mostly upbeat outing that's not afraid to lay on the dense sonic trappings // Release: Northern Gospel (September 6, Dead Daisy US: Digital only) // Sounds like: there's a distinctive scent of 70's pop song craftsmanship at the heart of Gospel's buoyant playfulness...Gryner can hold her own as a solo performer, but who wouldn't relish the chance to take the wheel of a sleek, sporty and well-tuned vehicle now and then?

Quote: "Somehow I think there is something special about this album. The writing is at its most personal, and the production I think, seems to shake hands with these songs instead of fight against them." // What we like: from initial sunny kick of album opener Ciao Monday, Gryner and Brawley let us know that we're in for something a bit different -- bigger, brighter, bolder..."North", thick with echoing piano lines and darting harmonies, is one of Gospel's best songs, a memorable melody and killer hook made even more impressive by Gryner's achingly tender vocal touches..."Heartsleeves" begins as subtle piano ballad but quickly amps up the production with a sumptuous harmonied chorus and insistent beat...

Emm Gryner - "North" (from Nothern Gospel)

Emm Gryner - "Ciao Monday" (from Nothern Gospel)