Although Ken Sharp is a favorite among power-pop aficionados, the San Fernando Valley-based singer, songwriter and multi-varied instrumentalist has never really been a strict purist, as he has dabbled here and there in other idioms. In fact, his latest album – Miniatures – stands as a complete departure from the genre he is generally associated with.
The collection was recorded at Sharp’s home studio, and is predominately a solo project, with bassist and percussionist Fernando Permado and violist Kaitlin Wolfberg appearing on certain tracks.
Duly titled, the pieces on the album average anywhere between mere seconds to under two minutes. Defined by detail and delicacy, Miniatures includes a mercurial mix of musical gear, running the gamut from guitars to harpsichords to glockenspiels to Moog synthesizers to Mellotrons to maracas to bell trees to the aforementioned violins.
Ken Sharp’s sweet and tuneful vocals are totally in sync with the primarily soft and gentle material presented on Miniatures. Whether crooning of love, philosophical matters or waxing nostalgia, his attentive lyrics strike a universal chord.
Papered with pristine and precise textures, cuts such as “Susannah Silently Shining,” “If I Called You,” “Me & My Big Fat Mouth” and “When I Needed a Friend” expertly demonstrate Sharp’s ability for turning sparsely structured settings into sophisticated melody-minted morsels.
The heart-warming “Stack O’ Records” evokes childhood memories of discovering music for the first time and the joy those vinyl delights still bring us as adults. A splash of classical piano passages kicks off “Black Coffee, Cigarettes and Bach,” and “Every Day Is a Holly Day” twinkles with ringing bells in a charmingly dainty manner.
On a heavier note, there’s the hooky stutter of “Down the Drain” and the punchy shuffle of “Something’s Happening” that carries a slight hip-hop feel. An additional select entry is “Kind of Blue & Smokey Too,” which offers a cool and refreshing cocktail of Spanish guitar pickings, jazz rhythms and a little bit of soul.
Not easy to pigeonhole, Miniatures touches on a number of different styles, with the early Bee Gees, the avant garde-period Beach Boys, baroque pop and acoustic-formatted folk seeming to be the central influences powering this album.
A roaring round of applause goes to Ken Sharp for not only acting on his exploratory vision, but creating a brilliant album in the process. Composed of 32 bite-sized nuggets, Miniatures promises to wow established fans as well as newcomers.
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