I first discovered Gretchen with 'The Fall' on my Portishead-based Pandora radio, and I instantly fell in love with the song's incredible vocals and lyrics and lush soundscapes - I learned the full album was created at a moment of intense pain for the artist, which gives an incredible honesty and emotion to the album, making it both heart-wrenching and inspiring. The Fall still stands out to me, but amazing overall.
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I own all of Gretchen's Cds and they just get better and better. The only bad thing about her is that she does most of her live performances in LA. That being said, she is still amazing and I look forward to hearing more from her in the future.
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Gretchen's voice on SIREN SONGS is food for the soul and an auditory treat for your senses.  She effortlessly drifts between light, airy moods that pick you up and let you accompany her on her melodic journey to more haunting, mindful pieces that leave you in a reflective mood.  Gretchen will transport you, and that is what you want from good music.
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If you are looking for another run of the mill no guts female vocalist, go else where. Gretchen is a self produced, self distributed songstress singing her heart out on this album and she leaves it all on this plastic disc, sparing no part of her soul or heart or energy. From the album's opening track "Key Largo" straight till the end you're in for an intricate, surreal and all at once wonderfuly familiar musical experience. In "You Closer" which at first listen comes off as a love song, in actuality she sings for a long lost friend who has passed away, and it is gut wrenching in the end to hear her call the name "Serena, Serena..." And in the magnificent "Opus", which rises up like some kind beautiful wave of psychedelic electronic energy, she sings that "Everything is beautiful...in retrospect" and her soul is laid bare for those who would listen. Nothing comes easy for this artist, but everything is experienced and deeply, as it is in our own lives. This is a singer who drifts from pain and longing and love to nostalgia for time that has slipped away effortlessly, as in the lazy groove of "Avila" where her deep, luxurious voice aches "I'm searching for summer, I'm pacing the ground, a hole in my pocket..." When the dark and amazing song "Can you Hear Me" comes to its crushing conclusion, I asked myself could this album get any better? And then came the song "Grace." One reviewer on Cdbaby.com/lieberum wrote that this song was so good you want "to chew off your arm for it to be longer." I agree it is so, and I implore you to buy this record, and if it is the first time you are exploring Gretchen's music, this is the best place to start.
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