Gretchen Schmaltz, Laced Up Tightly

Based on a cursory pass through Laced Up Tightly, it’d be easy to dismiss Schmaltz as just another indie-folkie left high and dry in the post-Lilith Fair America, but that’d be a mistake. Beyond the easy labeling, Schmaltz is a fine, emotive, heart-on-the-sleeve songwriter, on par with somebody like Kind of Like Spitting’s Ben Barnett or Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst (in his less-egomaniacal moments), while dodging most of the teenage-diary pitfalls to which similar songwriters fall victim.

The five-song EP’s highlight is “Fire For Wings,” a gently yearning track that was already one of my favorites from the Mia Kat Empire sampler disc released early this past spring. It’s got some nicely subtle, deliberate guitars and understated, almost jazzy drums, but the real star is Schmaltz’s unaffected, honest voice, a voice that pretty much drips with sincerity. When she sings about wanting to fly, despite all the clichés tied to the whole lyrical conceit, heck, I believe it. Which, to my cynical ear, immediately elevates her far above the pack of coffeehouse singer/songwriters doing their thing in every boho cafe in the country.

Second track “Learn to Be Pragmatic” strikes a bit of a different chord, coming off like sweet country-pop with its jangly guitars and yallternative rhythms, but it still works, as does the beautiful, Azure Ray-esque “For Days,” where Schmaltz demonstrates that she can easily reach Sarah MacLachlan-style heights when the song requires it. “Danang Bones” is murky but pretty, reminiscent of Rosie Thomas in her quieter, more melancholy moments, with even a few blues/gospel touches to liven things up. The one downturn is final track “The Guards,” which is jauntier and fast-moving but isn’t all that memorable, unfortunately — it’s a decent song, but it whizzes by without making much of an impression beyond, “hey, that sure sounds like Bright Eyes…”

The complaint I have for Laced Up Tightly is pretty much that it just isn’t long enough; the songs slip by demurely without fanfare or bravado, escaping from the stage when they’re done like a shy karaoke singer who can really belt it out but is afraid of the crowd. And that’s a shame, because Schmaltz has crafted some truly intriguing songs here; she’d do well to grab this thing by the horns next time ’round and put together a full-length album.