Sultry Goes Real

After years playing music on the rim of the spotlights, Bess Rogers finally gets her moment to be front and center. The New York singer/songwriter has supported groups like The Age of Rockets, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Ingrid Michaelson, playing the guitar, synthesizer, or singing. Pulling on the influences of these groups, Rogers and friend-producer Dan Romer half-accidently built Decisions Based on Information–Rogers’ first solo album and one that was born quite organically.

Initiated in 2006 with a few recorded songs, Rogers slowly built up a collection of more studio work until she had enough for a full-length album. Decisions reflects this haphazard recreational style of recording, piecing together many genres and styles. Clearly, Rogers is pulling on her experiences with the various bands she has performed with. Tracks like ‘Undone’ deliver an electro-indie blend similar to The Age of Rockets or The Bird and the Bee, combining sultry vocals with dance-floor instrumentals. More expected track ‘Only One’, is an effortless and emblematic indie female singer/songwriter tune in the style of Ingrid Michaelson or Feist. The addition of accordions in ‘Waltz Me’ flaunts Rogers’ own taste for expansive instrumental backdrops and hark to The Decemberists’ sea-shanties. And so continues the genuflects throughout Decisions as Rogers samples from Bjork (‘Untitled’), Jenny Owen Youngs (‘Earthquake’), and Frou Frou (‘I Would Never’). With such a diverse set of milieus, the album relies heavily upon her ever-present vocals to establish a sense of unanimity - which it delivers in spades.

Being a highly studied student of music (holding a Master’s Degree in Studio Composition from SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Music), it is surprising just how real Rogers sounds. Her voice reaches out with organic humanity resulting in a live feel. ‘See Me? See You?’ is the most moving example of this: together with her sultry and seductive voice Rogers adds scrappy twangy piano to create a smoky barroom feel. By the time Rogers launches into her nonsensical “Ba da da doo”’s, you can picture her strutting back and forth upon a tiny stage in front of a crowd of half-glazed over late night patrons. So plays a common occurrence on Decisions; nothing is necessarily ear-catching or special, but it emits vivid images and emotions that carry one’s mind away. You want to hear more, even if you’re not sure why.

The unintentional and crude birth of this record combines with Rogers’ sweet-yet-sultry voice, uniting the album with several genres. Throughout the electro-indie and backcountry folk, Rogers’ singing is innate or even human. One doesn’t need to stretch their imagination far to picture Decisions Based on Information as an open-mic set performance at a quiet coffee cafe. This is intimacy at its finest, where every listen is you own private show.