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W_n_E_Cover_1__phixrThis review is by Dave Downs

If you and your angelic sweetie are in the throws of planning that pivotal “Walk Down The Aisle” you’ll want to avoid Track 5 of Susan Elizabeth’s new album,  Wine and Cigarettes. In it, as our hero is “silently walking to my doom,” she recalls: “I thought of your name in calligraphy etched on the invitation/ Leaving a hole in my heart in the middle of my celebration… We got married.”

But if you do avoid that little tune, you’ll also miss out on a wonderful album.

With Wine and Cigarettes Susan Elizabeth joins the ranks of the classical troubadours of the broken heart; strong but wounded, battered but still standing. There’s lovely piano work here, in this occasionally jazzy/fast-folky/poppy collection of tales of woe. The acoustic guitar work is catchy and fun. The vocal arrangements and over-dubbing are at times breathtaking.

Susan Elizabeth, though young, does not strain too hard trying to sound like someone else. Her voice, like her words, is honest and hits the mark.

Susan Elizabeth has been around the block. Her previous band, Paige 23, found their songs placed in TV shows like “Ed” and “Medium.” Her bio likens Susan Elizabeth to the acerbic Alanis Morissette>

“One day you woke up wanting more/And I wanted less….”

“The Excitement Before,” a sparse and captivating tune featuring little more than Susan Elizabeth’s voice and a driving acoustic guitar, shows the maturity of a young writer, adroitly describing that all-too-familiar realization that anticipating a life-altering event is sometimes far more memorable than the event itself.

Susan Elizabeth has the most fun in this album with a catchy little thing called, “Jones For This.” Still a tale of woe but with tongue in cheek, it features a wonderful piano, a hip-hop/jazz-hybrid rhythm, a fantastic, if all-too-brief bridge, and very sexy vocals.

Sure, I’d love it if Susan Elizabeth lightened up a bit more. Maybe sing a little ditty about how great everything is. But even if she doesn’t, I’ll still listen. In fact, I can’t wait for more.