Hey guys, remember Milly Beau? No?? Well let me remind you from a previous post…
Milly Beau is fronted by the incredibly talented MaryBeth Doran, just a year removed from George Washington University in D.C. (loving this D.C. NYC connection.) Her voice is stunningly gorgeous; I can’t describe it any other way (I’m telling you, I was blown away.) And while she could easily sit back and let her vocals do all the work with some simple songs, she mixes it up big time with Milly Beau, throwing listeners for a loop with an extraordinary stage presence and a rollicking live show that makes their minimalist music sound anything but. The tunes were written by Aaron Leeder and John Thayer (of Exit Clov) along with Doran. Knox Road will be posting mp3s from Milly Beau soon, so continue to check back here. But in the meantime enjoy Milly Beau streaming on MySpace. Mark my words: this is a band more than ready to hit the big time.
And guess what? That big time begins now. Brooklyn-based Milly Beau released their debut album, Party Glitter, today, and it’s even more than expected. Incredibly mature for a debut, mixing pop, thrash, grunge, and jazz, Party Glitter immediately transports us to a dance floor – a slow-motion dance floor. It’s as if the room reads “tread carefully” and when we enter we’re immediately and happily drugged by the heavily electronic, minimalist background. It’s a quick first album, with nine short songs, none longer than four minutes, but the dynamic ambience is felt all the same.
Let’s be clear about something, though. Doran commands Milly Beau. Yes, the whole group is talented, yes there are bursts of beautiful flourishes, like the keys on “Supersonic” and the powerful violin-led crescendos of “Busted Sunlight” and “Free You In The Meanwhile”. But Doran’s voice is singular in it’s nature – as I said in my blurb above, it’s stunningly gorgeous. She sings with supreme confidence, sometimes acting as a sharp contrast (in a good way) to the rest of the song. She can basically do anything with her smoky, sultry voice. Add a ting of folk? Sure, why not. Go for the gold with falsetto yelps? Perfect! Nothing is off limits for this singer, and Party Glitter affirms just that.
Check out the first track below, and listen to two more songs, streaming in full, right here.
Milly Beau – “So Chic” [MP3]
Purchase Party Glitter from Greenhouse Records | Milly Beau on MySpace
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