Edmond native Brianna Gaither’s “Find You” does that immediately, kicking off her brilliant “Love Is Patient” album with a bang.
“Find You” opens with a pensive piano line, haunting guitar and a propulsive snare/ kick beat that creates intriguing tension between the urgent rhythm section and the casual melodic instruments. Then, her lilting voice comes in, residing somewhere between the songbird tone of a true soprano and the dusky tones of an alto. It’s a jaw-dropping voice, commanded with a maturity that ignores the fact that this is a debut album.
Most singer-songwriters can’t pull of a five-minute tune without getting repetitive, but Gaither does it four times in eight tracks. Impressively, the two longest tracks (“Find You,” “Faithful”) are the strongest. Her lyrics are taut as well; she pulls off timeworn themes — “Home” describes a lover as her residence, while “Harvest Moon” is a “get over that boy” tune — with an earnestness and clarity that makes them feel new and vital. It’s icing, however; with a voice this strong, she could sing the phone book.
From the upbeat, lyric-intensive “Let It Go” to the pensive “Dreamer” and the brilliant “Faithful,” this disc doesn’t disappoint once. “Love Is Patient” is on my short list of the year’s best albums, local or no. More, please? Thanks. —Stephen Carradini
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