Ami Saraiya March 10, 2011

One can never decide if Ami Saraiya's songs are sad or not. If so, it's a living sadness, vibrant, flushed with heart- stuff, anger and hopefulness. Her solo debut 'Archaeologist' is a remarkable document of submerged memories of events forgotten, of country lullabies, furiousness and remorse. As with Saraiya's other work, there has always been the voice- a beautiful instrument of power, soul and infinite sadness. It's hard to tie her to to one genre of music. For her debut as a solo artist, Saraiya shows new depth with dark gypsy waltzes, accordion chamber-ish pop (with string arrangements by Mark Messing of Mucca Pazza), and a touch of Bollywood cheekiness. 'Archaeologist' is Saraiya taking those seemingly disparate elements and forging a new style that is entirely her own.