ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
American Songwriter
  Sarah Glynn, a Wellesley graduate, was once deciding between medical school and music. Well, I guess we know what became of that, and who can blame her? "To Sweeten Up" is one of the most original and magnetic albums I've heard from a female solo artist in years. Her music is as unconventional as that of Suzanne Vega but has the pop sensibilities of U2 or The Police, which makes for quite a compelling combination. Listen to songs like "Money Retail Millionaires" or "One Day Older" and take notice of their clever lyrics, catchy choruses and adroit musicianship. Glynn is both a critic's worst nightmare and savior. Someone sign this girl...

SARAH GLYNN: SHE'S NOT FROM HERE, BUT WE'LL CLAIM HER
512 Magazine
  TWO YEARS AGO SARAH GLYNN, fresh out of Wellesley, considered medical school. About a one-hundred and eighty degree flip-flop later, she decided to become a singer/songwriter/musician. I'm really not sure which is the tougher path.
  A Bostonian by way of Indiana, she is now part of a unique sound that has been described as "somewhere between U2 and Dido." Her sound is so wonderfully peculiar, that her music has been used on two separate independent film tracks.
  Her first CD, "Lucy & the Luck Band" (2000), on which she is responsible for not just the lyrics, but all of the instrumentals, features an unassuming composition with an occasional bass riff. Her more recent album (2004) is called "To Sweeten Up" and is a pop-rock omnibus with unconventional undertones of the violin, banjo, and horned instruments. The lyrics are smart versions of poetry put to harmony and her minimal approach to composition allows each instrument to stand out.
  Her website (www.sarahglynn.com) has a nice sampling of her tunes. If you are a listen-before-you-buy type, you're well outfitted, but I can almost promise you it's not necessary as long as you're not also one of those anti-female-fronted types. My guess is that Sarah Glynn will soon be filed in your collection between G. Love and Patty Griffin.

SARAH GLYNN>TO SWEETEN UP
Hybrid Magazine
  A smooth fusion of jazz and indie-pop - interesting melodies, introspective lyrics, clever phrasing and syncopation... very cool music.

SARAH GLYNN>TO SWEETEN UP (Editors Pick)
Smother.Net
  Sarah Glynn once again proves that Austin, Texas is the place where time after time, great music flourishes. Her vocals are very breathy and smoky, something that’s unusual for a female singer/songwriter. Add to that her moody, emotional soundscapes and intriguing songwriting amid tremendous lyrics and we might be listening to the next Belly. The modern alternative rock world hasn’t seen a great female artist come around in a while and I’m pleased to say that it might be Sarah Glynn who will next make that storied climb up the charts.

SARAH GLYNN>TO SWEETEN UP
INsite Austin magazine
  This album has been sitting in my CD player for the last few months. I’ve been meaning to review it, but everytime I try to start writing something about it, I can’t find the words. It’s a very good album…but describing it is much harder than any album I’ve ever heard to date. It was released last September, so I’ve got to take my best stab at it this month.
  To Sweeten Up is singer/songwriter/producer/ multi-instrumentalist Sarah Glynn’s sophomore effort. The twelve-song album launches through a couple of styles, always well… from a Yaz , to a U2, to a Cure, to a Belinda Carlisle feel. Glynn plays just about every instrument on just about every song too.
  Opening with the guitar-driven “Don’t Say No,” this album proves that it’s not the run-of- the-mill local release. Glynn’s voice has a certain British quality to it that throws me for a loop (she was born and raised in Richmond Indiana).
  The title track is an infectious song that belongs on a radio station in heavy rotation. “Full Badge Bar” reminds me of Juliana Hatfield’s “My Sister” which is one of the few songs from my teen years that I would put on my iPod. The instrumental “Cromwell” ends the album nicely.
  Overall this album is a nice listen. If you’re into catchy indie-pop you’d do well to search this one out.

SARAH GLYNN>YOU ALWAYS YOU NEVER (single review)
The Muses Muse
   Sarah Glynn, a singer/songwriter/musician from Boston, via Austin, sent in this catchy tune which adheres to the 6 rules of commercial music success in an unconventional way.
   This track delivers melodies on top of melodies and right when you think you can predict them, she throws an instrumental break at you that lasts just long enough to leave you yearning for the melodies that you just took a break from. Its a truly infectious, almost hypnotic experience. It's ironic that the only easily decipherable lyric is "turning it off" in the chorus because that's the last thing you want to do while listenting to it. But you can't. You keep listening because you want to understand what she's singing about, but after a while you simply don't care. The driving rhythm, the guitars, the melodies; they hold you captive and before you know, the song ends on the CD...but not in your head. Clever.
   Advice: You've got a radio single for sure. Explore all of the options available to you in promoting it.

SARAH GLYNN>TO SWEETEN UP (five stars)
Musical Discoveries (Hereford UK)
  (16 June 2005) After listening to any number of major label, clone-like, female singer-songwriter releases lately, Sarah Glynn's independently produced To Sweeten Up (S. Glynn (USA), 2004) comes as a breath of immensely welcome fresh air. And 'independent' is the right word--not only has she written, produced, recorded and mixed the album herself, but she plays every instrument on every track (bar passing the drumsticks to Julio Figueroa for three cuts).
  Currently resident in Austin, Texas, by way of Richmond, Indiana and Boston, MA, Sarah was classically trained on both piano and violin, though she later took up guitar, and says her heart has always been in popular music. She graduated from Wellesley College and was on the point of going to Med School when she made the sort of decision that is the stuff of parents' worst nightmares. She decided to concentrate on her music. To Sweeten Up is her second album following Lucy And The Luck Band released in 2000.
  The opening track, "Don't Say No" grabs the attention immediately with a dramatic electric guitar figure. It's a very powerful piece which goes through a number of phases in its four minutes - a miniature epic in fact. It's breathless in feel, an impression created by combining complex melodic lines to form the harmony behind the sung melody rather than using the usual block chord approach. This is one of the trademarks of the album and you can hear it on other songs such as "You Always You Never" which also features an acoustic guitar track that appears to have arrived unblemished from "Dogs" on Pink Floyd's 1977 album, Animals. "One Day Older" has a guitar break reminiscent of The Cure's Wish period. In fact the more I listen to this album, the more I'm convinced that Sarah must listen to a LOT of British music.
  "Should I, Could I" is the commercial highlight of the collection with Sarah's distinctive vocal phrasing, a killer chorus and some lovely stabs in the background of the instrumental passage. The album's title track is the first chance to catch breath, it's in three-time and opens with a gentle melodic verse, though it soon picks up steam, going through a musical metamorphosis which sees it ending up a long way from where it started.
  "Money Retail Millionaires" is a Catatonia-like piece that goes on a roller-coaster of rhythmic changes and has some of the strongest lyrics on the album, "What we wants not in the stores / Yet we still shop and we still find." "Full Badge Bar" motors along nicely and "Young Emergency" uses some imaginative vocal harmony. Although the album is melodically strong, one of the oddities is that on a number of songs, "Young Emergency," is an example along with "My Best Friend" and "Riddle To Stay," the choruses are less memorable than the music and verses that surround them. The hooks in these pieces are elsewhere in the song. The album rounds out with another three-time song "Us Girls," and the unexpected instrumental "Cromwell" which hints at even more interesting things to come next time around.
  Elsewhere, Sarah's voice has been likened to The Sunday's Harriet Wheeler--a terrific compliment indeed--and certainly there's a British feel to a lot of the music on this album, as well as to her distinctive and individual vocals. There are moments where her singing strongly recalls Louise Wener and Cerys Matthews for example - and although there are also echoes of Kristen Hersh, Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donelly, Sarah has one of the least obvious American singing voices I've heard from an American in a long time - it's certainly part of what singles her out from the crowd.
  This is as original and unconventional female singer-songwriter album as I've come across recently. The songs have a fresh feel and take the listener through such a fascinating labyrinth of rhythmic changes that you find yourself smiling at the sheer audacity and exuberance of it all. And let's face it, there aren't many CDs around these days that put a grin on your face. You can't take your ears off this album for a moment, and no reason why you'd want to. --Jamie Field in Hereford, England

SARAH GLYNN>TO SWEETEN UP
Feedback Magazine
  Gentle, yet passionate, Sarah Glynn rocks out with her debut, "To Sweeten Up." Sarah's music has appeared in various independent films like "Girl Wrestler" and "Prize Whores," and her band has played with great artists such as Juliana Hatfield and Bob Schneider. Though she shares the stage with Jesse Jack on keyboards and background vocals, Seth Whitney on bass, and Mike Irene on drums, this singer, guitarist, songwriter, and album producer created and laid down each note of the album with her own hand. Some people compare Sarah's sound to Belly and Dido. Imagine a soft, yet raspy voice over easy-on-the-ears college rock. Sarah's voice conveys a wistful longing that assumes conviction when matched with guitars and drums. Add accents of tambourine, and you have a jangle pop groove that will have your head swaying and hips swinging. "To Sweeten Up" appeals to the finicky listener who orders her pop with a side of intellect.

SARAH GLYNN>TO SWEETEN UP
MishMash Indie Music Reviews
  Sarah Glynn is a one-woman band--- writing, performing and producing her way through a tight album of catchy pop songs. She embraces an early 80s new wave style, which is often blended with an offbeat, herky-jerky rhythm. It's an endearing combination, keeping the familiar pop structures from becoming stale and boring.
  Glynn's voice is low-key and unassuming, providing a melody which simply rides along above the instrumentation nonchalantly. The carelessness of it all gives it a light and airy feel which doesn't take itself too seriously, while at the same time adding a touch of mystery

SARAH GLYNN>TO SWEETEN UP
Tasty Fanzine (Leeds, UK)
  Immaculately produced and well written songs, with not a negligible amount of creativity, Sarah Glynn has talent in both her voice and her performance. It's also kind of helpful when certain tracks are earmarked for listening for us hard pressed reviewers. And sure enough, all the recommended tracks were very nice. Nice. Very listenable. Jingly jangly guitar pop delivered by an attractive young woman. Very marketable. Would I listen to it again? Not a chance - not to say it isn't good, but you could hear the same thing from a dozen similar bands any day on your local radio station. I think that Sarah Glynn has something more to offer, something darker or more personal. But it's an easier road to follow the alternative route, to commercial success. Decision time?

SARAH GLYNN>LUCY & THE LUCK BAND
Austin American Statesman
  An aging hipster doofus is chatting up the temp receptionist, an attractive and retiring young woman named Sarah Glynn. She mentions that she writes songs and fronts a group called Lucy and the Luck Band.
  Later that evening, hipster doofus downloads an MP3 of Sarah's song 'All the Dogs,' from lucyandtheluck- band.com. He clicks 'play,' and the song is so catchy, the performance so accomplished, he does a 'take,' his eyes bulging and his jaw dropping to his chest.
  Glynn, who moved to Austin a couple of years ago, wrote, performed, arranged and produced this debut disc of smart pop songs by herself (with the exception of a bassist on two tracks, there is no 'band,' lucky or otherwise, here). The 24-year-old exhibits such songwriting moxie and confident command of her multi-instrumental talent that her band could be The Next Big Thing, or at least The Next Big Thing After That.
  'All the resolution came falling down/We're like two fireworks that never left the ground,' Glynn laments on 'Hey Now,' one of several tracks that might be looping in my head at any given moment. Her songwriting skills are strong; she knows how to use repetition to hook listeners with the familiar, and where to add a vocal bridge or a wah-wah guitar run to throw them a curve.
  Her voice expresses a demure vulnerability, dispelled by smart, slightly acidic lyrics. 'I can't believe you,' she sings on 'You Cut,' 'You cut straight just like a knife/And if I trust you/You'll cut me seasoned and sliced.'
  There are moments when too-sharp angles in the production sound more cold than clean, and if Glynn had enough confidence to resist multi-tracking her vocals so much, the songs might have more emotional immediacy. Presumably that's not a problem at her live shows, since Lucy and the Luck Band perform as a two guitars/bass/drums outfit. I'll find out soon enough, and I suspect my jaw will get another workout."