Some artists just creep on you and leave an indelible impression. I say without a hint of hyperbole that Ac Sapphire is one such act; a new name to me but one that my ears and head are telling me instantly there is something seriously good going on here. Several listens later, I am thoroughly convinced. I cannot tell you this Portland musician is merely a folk singer, indie rocker or purveyor of cosmic Americana, even though there are elements of all and many spaces between in her sound. For example, Highway Hum is a tune with such crunching electric guitar as the backbone that words like grunge and primal are perfectly appropriate. By contrast, Oblivion has a purist’s back porch folksy hue further advanced by vocals that soar with a harmoniousness not heard this side of First Aid Kit. The one thing that can be stated definitively is that here is an artist ready and able to express herself through music in a wholly free and unbounded way.
I find it relevant that Ac Sapphire is a former finalist in a John Lennon Songwriting Competition, for these compositions are so instant and potent because they adhere to the principles of The Beatles’ school of songwriting. Underneath all decorative production strokes, these are songs with melodies writ large that shine bright and bold like primary colours. They are never repetitive, they do not outstay their welcome, they are immediate and always follow the natural path the song needs them to travel in, even if that means a sudden shift in mood. One of the many highlights, Sibling Rivalry, puts all these facets at centre stage and exposes a real heavy-duty soulful element to Ac Sapphire’s singing. She really brings the emotion to the party on this track before the final forty seconds accelerate in another blindside gear change that is as satisfying as it is unexpected.
She can pack a punch too, as stated explicitly in another tune’s opening salvo: “this song could be a string breaker, this song could change your life.” On Check Engine Light, Sapphire cuts it like a classic country craftsperson, firing on all cylinders with a killer chorus that runs with, “baby you are like a car that won’t start, then you and then break down and you break my heart. Only time will tell if I wish you well.” Weed Money takes Sapphire into a more pared-down acoustic setting. As well as offering a sonic contrast to other hot desert excursions on the album, it also brings into sharp focus an artist with the natural ability to cut it with her melodic facility just using a guitar and voice. Singing near the song’s end, “ain’t it a shame, to always sing the same refrain again and again and again?” Ac Sapphire raises the melodic progression up to the psychedelic clouds floating overhead; the listener can only feel lifted too.
On the album’s opening track, Chaparral Bottoms, the shimmering haze of a widescreen panorama present in all her music is instantly captivating. It turns out the song is a heartfelt ode to Sapphire’s friend and sometime collaborator Victoria Williams, a one-time bright shining star in the alt-country firmament and another who would fearlessly step away from the predictable; I sense that Ac Sapphire swims adventurously alongside similar currents. This song alone is a fine example, not merely in the way it is sufficiently oblique to invite in any meaning the listener may wish to impart but also with the explosive little instrumental break in which the electric guitar briefly rotates like a catherine wheel firing off scattergun explosive sparkles. “She says that if I am trying, I’m not failing”, sing the lyrics, a sentiment proved in the very creation of this remarkable record. It may only be March now, but I can predict with certainty that by the time December 32nd comes around, there will still be a place in my listening time for a sensational album like this.
December 32nd is out now on American Standard Time Records.
Bandcamp: https://acsapphire.bandcamp.com/album/dec-32nd
Website: https://www.acsapphiremusic.com/