Those who love music are prone to occasional musical ruts. They don’t come very often, but when they do, the victim of this depression rejects music for a short while to clear his or her palette and visceral senses. During these ruts, the ear is bored and the spirit blasé. Who knows why? Perhaps this person hasn’t heard anything new or exciting as of late. Maybe the ear is jaded due to an abundance of music coming from all directions, ultimately not much of it affecting the soul. As wonderful as music is in general, much of it is generic and we all go through phases of cynicism and abstinance from listening.
I myself have just finished battling a quite severe musical rut. My iPod was abandoned for weeks, concerts went unattended, and the train rides to and from work were silent and contemplative. I wondered what had happened to me. I panicked, thinking that my life might go on forever without a soundtrack. When I hit rock bottom, I went searching for something to awaken my senses. The answer: My Brightest Diamond. A diamond in the ruff, My Brightest Diamond is the musical embodiment of its namesake. Flawless and sparking, its music will have the same effect on your ears that the most vivid light of a diamond would have on your eyes.
Formerly called Awry, My Brightest Diamond is a project of vocal and arrangment genius Shara Worden. Released in late August on Sufjan Stevens’ label Asthmatic Kitty Records, “Bring Me The Workhorse” is a musical rollercoaster, filled with moments of striking beauty and dissonance. What marks the album is a constant emotional attachment to words and feelings on behalf of Worden. She is unabashedly melodramatic, something that is so alluring in today’s world. The album begins with one of its most intense songs, “Something of an End.” With dark, ethereal strings and a sort of grungy rhythmic guitar track, “Something of an End” sets the stage for the following tracks by establishing Worden’s penchant for acknowledging existential issues like impermanence, catastrophe, heaven, hell and love. Worden sings, “And then the earth started shaking/ yeah it was crazy/ heaven and hell came crashing down/ It was beautiful/ and terrible.” But not only does Shara Worden sing, she completely emotes. She’s got this incredible vintage voice like that of Edith Piaf. It’s the sort of voice that can reach peircing highs or sultry lows with the snap of a finger and cut straight through to you.
Perhaps the most beautiful track on the album is “Dragonfly.” Making an entrance with a truly majestic string section, excellent drum sounds, and an enchanting melody, “Dragonfly” takes you away to a magical land. Worden tells the tale of a dragonfly “caught in the spider’s web.” Worden walks away as the the dragonfly calls to her and asks to be freed. The chorus is simple and dreamy. “Come and fly away with me tonight.” In the dense center of the track, Worden doubts her ability to fly in a breathtaking vocal climax that shows off her opera pipes. As a whole, the song is a testament to her arranging abilities. Every element of “Dragonfly” is totally complementary to the next. Heavy strings and strong percussion are rarely matched so perfectly.
Even amongst an album filled with breathtaking exhuberance are quiet and gentle songs such as “We Were Sparking.” With minimal guitar pluckings and tasteful harmonics, Worden sings to us from a melancholy and intimate place about somebody that she missed terribly, somebody who might have died or disappeared from her life. Painting a picture of the light shining through beautiful glass objects hanging from a tree, “I’m remembering you, you were sparkling,” Worden sadly sings to us. Her voice is haunting and fragile, leaving listeners hanging on to her every word. “I’m afraid to forget you,” she whispers during the chorus, backed by a choir of overdubs.
Another standout track on Bring Me The Workhorse is “Disappear.” It has this mellow sort of energy propelled by a fantastic percussion section and a pretty funky bass line. What sounds like Castanets and a tight and opened snare drum (I could be wrong) creates a crisp electronic feel. The song is so good because it’s softened by Worden’s sparse lyrics and strings. Once again she sings of impermenence, a theme that appears throughout her work. “I don’t think we’re meant to stay here very long… I’d rather move on.” Her words are fed up with daily life, noisy alarm clocks, “sneaky societies and combat boots.” It will beckon you from boring routine and summon you to sit in the park when you know you should be at work.
Bring Me The Workhorse is a great album. While Worden has been compared to likes of PJ Harvey and Fiona Apple, she stands on her own. Eccentric and very peculiar in many ways, Ms. Worden employs refreshingly unconventional song formats, various vocal techniques, and an interesting balance of heavy percussion and fanciful string sections. The result is a captivating opus that will have you hooked to your iPod, computer, CD player, walkman, or any other modern device capable of playing music; regardless of whether or not you desperately need to revive your musical ear.
PS. If you dig her, check Shara Worden out on Jedi Mind Trick’s new album Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell. She’s featured on “Razorblade Salvation”. 
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