[MP3] Sarah Jaffe: "Clementine" + "Perfect Plan"

I didn’t know much about Sarah Jaffe until someone sent her upcoming debut LP, Surburban Nature, my way late last week. After playing a few tracks here and there over the weekend, I’ve since made it through the entire record a few times and am immensely impressed with the young folk artist. It may be a terrible pun to say she’s the next “big thing” coming out of Texas, considering their trite mantra of everything being “bigger” in Longhorn Land.

[MP3] Sarah Jaffe – Clementine
[MP3] Sarah Jaffe – Perfect Plan

Hailing from Denton, TX (which is apparently The Lonestar State’s musical mecca with Denton transplants like Roy Orbison, Norah Jones, and Midlake), Jaffe does well in crafting acoustic intimacy with superb songwriting and a strong voice. Many of her tracks are slow building that rely on billowing vocals and increased layers of instrumentation (i.e. “Clementine” – cue Eternal Sunshine imagery), yet some are short and punchy like “Perfect Plan”. Apparently she tore up ACL Fest last year and caught the eyes of Rolling Stone and NPR, with 2010 primed to catch the ears of even more folks (especially when opening for Midlake).

Suburban Nature drops in May via Kirtland Records.