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Meghan Coffee
Songs to Sail By
By Nick Margiasso
Special to Metromix
July 15, 2008

Coffee is a word that makes people get up, get warm and get some attention paid. Apparently, this consequence is also the same if that word happens to be your name. Such is the case for Ms. Coffee — Ms. Meghan Coffee, that is — a local singer/songwriter with a passionate piano and vocals to match, and you luckily get an inspired dose of both on her new record, "Songs to Sail By."

Come Sail Away: The poetic siren´s new sophomore effort is an album with a moody contrast to her bubbling debut, 2006´s" All Things Being Said." The batch of tunes that make up "Songs to Sail By" slowly protrude from the murky maelstrom of night, into your ears and straight into your soul. Nearly every song on here is just Meghan and her piano pulling at the heart strings, sweetly singing the listener on to her musical shore.

Rough Seas: The record is based on a tough time the pianist went through since her last record, one that led her closer to a higher power in order to right her personal ship. Meghan Coffee´s 10 songs here are a testament to the old adage, you can´t have truly great art without pain and suffering sometimes. A pair of tracks, "Dear East" and "I Was Listening, I Was Waiting," were penned with her little sister Caitlin, who was an important part of getting Meghan through the period on which the album is based.

The Sound of Music: Coffee´s vocal stylings will arouse the ears of Tori Amos fans, while her piano recalls the somber tunes of Sara McLaughlin and David Gray. With a booming, yet natural classic piano sound, Coffee´s epic vocals sweep in over her instrument. The recording was done mostly in the halls of an Atlantan Presbyterian Church — the same place that helped her sort out her own demons that provided inspiration for the album.

Songs to Sail By: The LP leads off with hypnotic piano-drum ditty "Nightingale," which calls out the album´s overall message, "I´m not going to give up." The inspiring "Song Without a Name" and lyrical picture postcard that is "Lake Ponchartrain" pair with simplistic power featuring two different stylistic takes on the astounding Coffee plus piano formula. And "Jericho" reveals an eerie electronic setting that Coffee whispers through like a ghost. It´s an album that showcases musical diversity, powerful simplicity and a literary feel from start to finish. But most of all, it is a musical story of the importance of finding one´s way home even after sailing the toughest oceans.