* CDs out of stock, Secretary Waltz is currently only available on iTunes.
This is Joanie Mendenhall's debut album, made in the summer of 2004. She set up shop in the garage and played a bunch of instruments - guitar, piano, drums, bass - and got some help from Exfriends members Ray Suen on violin, Pete Hamilton on upright bass, and Matt Curreri on drums.
Joanie is also a member of Matt Curreri & The Exfriends.
* San Diego Music Award Finalist for "Best Local Recording"
Reviews for Secretary Waltz:
"A thoroughly charming debut that begs for repeated listens... From plinking piano lines on a Rhodes to the folksy tones of a fiddle, fuzzed-out guitar to jazz-inflected upright bass, her lo-fi compositions are rich with texture and rife with catchy melodies... A dulcet voice, pure in pitch and beautifully earnest... a deep intelligence and a fierce wit."--SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE
"Her molasses tongue, shimmering neo-folk waltzes and heroic suffering will fascinate you. Mendenhall never drowns in her suffering, for her musical landscape -- whether it's composed of upbeat, violin-driven shuffles, lo-fi guitar-filtered wavers or jazzy-bent, bass-heavy stomps -- gains an extra charge from her refreshingly sophisticated lyrics."--SPLENDID MAGAZINE
"Wholly engaging original songs... Think Aimee Mann or Rilo Kiley..."--SAN LUIS OBISPO NEW TIMES
"A kick-ass multi- instrumentalist singer-songwriter...an abundance of heart to accompany a remarkable voice" --SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT
"Secretary Waltz is a stunning record, one that spans a dozen emotions and wraps them in Rhodes piano tremolo, faint lo-fi guitar and slow dance at the end of the night suggestions." --THE MUSIC EDGE .com
"Mendenhall's soft voice and scatterbrained charm belies the powerfulness of her lyrics on this debut album." --SAN DIEGO READER
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