Tristan Prettyman - Cedar + Gold (2012/2019) [Hi-Res]

Tristan Prettyman took an extended break prior to making her new album Cedar + Gold. She traveled the globe, had surgery to remove polyps on her vocal cords, got engaged to her long-term boyfriend, dealt with the pain of his ending the engagement, and eventually questioned whether she even wanted to be a musician at all. With an artistry that lies in her finely etched lyrical details and intimate vocal performances, Prettyman spares no one, including herself, on songs like Say Anything, I Was Gonna Marry You, Come Clean, Glass Jar, and Never Say Never. As intense as some of the songs may be, the mood is tempered not only by playfully twisted tunes like first single My Oh My, but also by the album s warm, earthy sound, which Prettyman created with her producer Greg Wells (Adele, Katy Perry), who plays piano, bass, drums, and some guitar on the album.

"If Tristan Prettyman's 2008 release Hello...x was somewhat inspired by her split with fellow singer/songwriter Jason Mraz, then her intimate, musically varied 2012 effort Cedar + Gold, recorded after the couple reunited, got engaged, and then broke it off again, is Prettyman's definitive breakup record. Produced by Greg Wells, Cedar + Gold continues the more instrumentally fleshed-out electric and electronic sound that the largely acoustic-oriented Prettyman explored on Hello...x. This newfound musical maturity also extends into her songwriting, as Cedar + Gold features some of the most introspective, self-examinational, and emotionally raw songs of her career. In that sense, such tracks as the passionate "Second Chance" and the rambling country-blues-inflected "My Oh My," with their anthemic, soulful melodies and dancey percussion, bring to mind such similarly inclined contemporaries as Colbie Caillat, Mat Kearney, and even the operatic uplift of Florence + the Machine. As Prettyman and Mraz's relationship was a public one, with the couple often performing together on tour, it's fairly clear what such songs as "Second Chance," "Quit You," and, most obviously, "I Was Gonna Marry You," are about. But rather than coming off as mere diary entries set to music, Prettyman displays a true craftsman's touch. The cuts on Cedar + Gold are both personal and universally relatable, with melodies that stick in your head and tug at your heart." (Matt Collar, AMG)

"They say write about what you know. Perhaps the corollary to that weary maxim is this—sing about what you’ve been through. On Cedar + Gold, Pretty- man takes her shattered engagement to fellow singer Jason Mraz and uses it as grist for the emotional payback mill. One can’t deny the power inherent in the California surfer girl’s plainspoken, confessional lyrics, the brutally honest tales showcasing her affable personality with every breath. The album’s overall pop sheen maintains a fragile subtle- ty that most won’t appreciate, but those who find resonance in the ex-model’s tale of woe and redemption will uncover a subtle majesty that only materializes after seriously meditative, introspective listens." (Andy Kaufmann, musicconnection.com)