SALLY SHAPIRO - Disco Romance

By Simon Howell - A Listening Ear - 10/30/2006

Of Sally Shapiro and producer/writer Johan Agebjörn, it can be said that first and foremost they know their product and its audience very well. The album is explicitly winter-themed, from Shapiro's snow-covered face on the cover to several song titles specifically name-checking the season -- it's a record meant for those of us who find ourselves seasonally affected as the windows frost over. The first thing you hear on eight-minute opener, "I'll Be By Your Side (Extended Mix)" is Shapiro's heavily vocodered voice, followed by drum patterns affectionately borrowed from ‘80s dance-pop (itself having been successfully plundered by the likes of Toronto's Junior Boys). Shapiro's voice eventually comes through the mix cleanly and without fanfare, and the combination of her direct-but-dreamy approach and the music's lush romanticism is an intoxicating one. When the album diverts itself from straight dance floor outings, Agebjörn and his muse don't lose any of their hushed confidence. "He Keeps Me Alive," the album's standout track, prioritizes its chilly glow -- provided by a rich bed of synth pads and chimes -- over its percussive elements, and pairs nicely with the song's theme of repressed emotion. Similarly, "Skating in the Moonshine" perfectly evokes its namesake with its swathes of reverb and sweetly tinged, minor-key melodies. Even further from the dance floor is "Jackie Jackie (Spend This Winter With Me)," with its quietly spoken verses and string-aided chorus. If you find yourself growing increasingly wistful as the temperature drops, you owe it to yourself to give Shapiro and Agebjörn's effervescent collaborations a spin.

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