Leah Callahan: Our Lady of the Sad Adventure

Boston indie singer Leah Callahan hits the ground running on her new album Our Lady of the Sad Adventure with the sprawling opener Fall in Love with your Mind, mixing shoegaze and psychedelic rock, a musical love baby conceived by the 60s and 80s. Callahan shuns the sign-posted main roads. As a long serving member of the Boston underground in bands like Turkish Delight and Betwixt before flying solo, she does not have to prove anything.

Her legacy is intact, but by adding more albums on a regular basis, she is still growing and challenging herself. The hirsute main riff of New Punk almost drowns out her vocals, but she raises to the occasion. Title track Our Lady of the Sad Adventure is smooth, but not schmaltzy, making yacht rock cool for a change by adding gnarly sounding synths as a counterpoint for the tight rhythm section./p>

Petridisch featuring Leah Callahan: Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais

Boston based musicians Petridisch (stage name of Thor Maillet) and Leah Callahan have teamed up again for a cover of one of their favourite artists. They took on Serge Gainsbourg's Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais, following in the footsteps of Jo Lemaire + Flouze's synth version. They slowed it down a bit and by recording the vocals with iPhone Voice memo (plus a bit of echo) the track's mood is almost as sad as the original.

Leah Callahan: Curious Tourist

Boston indie singer Leah Callahan has picked an apt title for her new album, Curious Tourist. She started out as New Wave artist, but she loves to explore (and master) other genres as well. In the title track she brushes shoulders with late night jazz, Ordinary Face is a spot-on baroque pop song, and she gets the party started with a slice of country in Nowhere Girl. Bubblegum pop for grown ups can be found in Super. Fellow Bostonians Pixies get a nod with a hint of surf in Social Climber. The album's sole cover, You Don't Love Me (No No No), is turned into late night jazz meets ska song.

Callahan is like a kid in a candy store, who can't settle for just a couple of treats, but that is not a problem at all. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she created an album where each song could have been a single. Don't sleep on the piano ballad Duras or the post-progressive instrumental All's Fair in War as the dark horse to be cherished by serious music fans and adventurous DJ's who don't give a fuck about corporate formats.

Leah Callahan: Ordinary Face

Boston indie singer Leah Callahan inserted a bit of baroque pop into her new single Ordinary Face, making a case for a girl who tends to be overlooked. Average Joes and plain Janes don't get much recognition outside blue-collar rock, so Callahan is pushing her in the spotlights, making her feel a bit awkward and self-conscious when being questioned about where she would rather be right now.

Leah Callahan: Diabolique

Watch the new Leah Callahan video for Diabolique, a track from her latest album Cut-Ups: "a collection of songs about relationships. The good ones (Let's Go Dance) and the bad ones (Diabolique) are covered as equals with lush '80s arrangements, as she takes a scalpel to her love life, making small incisions with deceptively straightforward lyrics".

Leah Callahan: Cut-Ups

photo: Roza Sampolinska

Boston indie singer Leah Callahan navigates between pop and art-rock on her new album Cut-Ups. It is a collection of songs about relationships. The good ones (Let's Go Dance) and the bad ones (Diabolique) are covered as equals with lush '80s arrangements, as she takes a scalpel to her love life, making small incisions with deceptively straightforward lyrics. The suicide of the very successful Cordelia is used as a wake-up call not to chase after fame at all cost, but cherish some kind of anonymity.

As a veteran of the scene - she was a member of Turkish Delight, Betwixt, and The Glass Set - she knows what it takes to make a mark, basking in the spotlights. She can be a self-deprecating Enfant Terrible or go all out with the ode to night life City Lights, when the possibilities seem endless and the hassles of everyday life take a back seat to living in the moment. On the album's sole cover, David Bowie's Look Back in Anger, Callahan sings both lead and backing vocals, just like her hero did. It is not a slavish reproduction, but a tribute to a man who has been ingrained into her musical DNA as a major touchstone for decades.

Leah Callahan: City Lights

Boston based indie singer and songwriter Leah Callahan sings about the joys of the night on the town on her new single, City Lights. The possibilities seem endless and the hassles of everyday life take a backseat to living in the moment. A slice of carpe diem pop, with nagging doubts bubbling under the surface. It is a track from her forthcoming Cut-Ups, scheduled for release on November 28.

Petridisch featuring Leah Callahan: OCSID

Boston based musicians Petridisch (stage name of Thor Maillet) and Leah Callahan thought it would be fun to tackle two rather cheesy, but catchy songs from the pop disco era on their new single, OCSID. Giving Christina's Don't Be Greedy and Andrea True's More More More a little kick worked out like a charm. The lo-fi sheen gives both tracks a new lease on life. There is some irony in there, but also respect for a genre that never got much love. Both released as cash-ins back in the day - and adding True's main career as a pornographic actress as a welcome extra marketing ploy - both songs became big hits and dance floor favourites.

Leah Callahan: Short Stories

Boston based indie singer and songwriter Leah Callahan (Turkish Delight, Betwixt, The Glass Set) finally released a new solo album earlier this year, the upbeat Simple Folk. It gave her taste for more and the follow-up Short Stories follows the same blueprint - carefully crafted college rock songs - albeit digging a little deeper lyrically. She tries to make to sense of female animosity (Competitive Clara) and looks back on a relationship that went South (Tom and the Dog)

Having fun at night is all fine and dandy (Party), but when the house lights go on, the far less adventurous reality of everyday life can have an instantly sobering effect. It can be pretty lonesome (Dawn and a Bottle of Wine) and dragging yourself to a dead-end job (Spirit Haus) to pay the rent is no picnic either. Callahan offers honest snapshots from her life and her surroundings. The album's sole cover, Robert Palmer's Johnny and Mary, fits in perfectly. With Alex Stern and Alex Brander having her back again she has found her niche.

Leah Callahan: Simple Folk

Boston based indie singer and songwriter Leah Callahan was a member of a couple of jangling guitar bands (Turkish Delight, Betwixt, The Glass Set) in the late '90s and early '80s before disappearing from the music scene in 2008. Now she is back with Simple Folk, a new solo album that celebrates the upbeat pop of her younger days. She tackles her uncertainties ( Wish That I Had Never Met You Music) and pet peeves (A Woman of Few Things) in one big swoop. It is all delivered with gusto and panache. Callahan can make both fun of herself and point an accussing finger as well.

With Alex Stern on board for abrasive yet melodic guitar and piano the album is a continuation of her previous work. It is as if she never left. A little sadder and wiser perhaps, but also adamant to come out on top in the end. The cover of the Mary Hopkin hit single Those Were the Days is a nice surprise. It fits her poppy vocalizing like a glove.