Veronica Swift, 27, a name to send shivers down spines in the musical know, has spent the last 18 years honing her talent as a remarkable vocalist and interpreter, a songwriter, composer, arranger, tap dancer and actress, with a natural knack for entertaining, and cemented her status as a powerful young vocalist who can hold her own alongside the greats.
Her latest album and second release through Mack Avenue Records, This Bitter Earth is a compilation of songs from the last century, exploring multiple genres to tell a cruelly compelling story of the world today, alongside her good friends and regular collaborators pianist Emmet Cohen (also her musical director), guitarist Armand Hirsch, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, saxophonist and flautist Aaron Johnson, and drummer Bryan Carter — all of virtuosic capability.
Opening with the titular track “This Bitter Earth” by post-classical composer Max Richter, performed by Dinah Washington, Swift sings just above a whisper alongside Cohen’s minimal piano arrangement, while Steven Feifke’s string arrangement builds the intensity. As Swift closes with “This bitter earth may not be so bitter after all”, the mournful ballad suggests hope in a time of darkness, before the album descends into chaos.
Swift goes full theatre for “How Lovely to Be A Woman”, originally from the 1960s musical “Bye Bye Birdie”, and she certainly belts like the best on Broadway. She sings playfully, while Carter’s battle call of a rhythm creates the outdated idea that women must militantly obey and know their place in society. Cohen risks whiplash with a swinging piano solo while Nakamura takes the bass for a walk, and by the time the song is done, they’ve made ironic light of the blatant sexism in the world.
“You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” (originally from the 1949 Broadway musical South Pacific) comments on the centuries-long global history with racism and the relationship between different ethnic groups, stating that indoctrination from a very young age is the breeding ground for hatred – racism is no accident.
Breathing fresh life into a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “Getting to Know You” from The King & I, the arrangement starts off tentatively, Swift singing politely, almost shyly. The song progresses and drops into a freer jazz form, as if learning to grow genuinely more comfortable in an honest, healthy relationship.
Swift’s masterful interpretation of the Gershwin brothers’ “The Man I Love” is a powerful display firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, a tradition that she takes up a couple of notches – what a #BebopBabe – with composer Bob Dorough’s “You’re The Dangerous Type”. The lyrics are sung at breakneck speed, Swift not flinching in the slightest, before breaking into her only full-length scat solo on the album. You’re left wondering whether she’s ever sang a bum note in her life as she warns about relationship red flags.
Reviving a Disney classic, “Trust in Me” from The Jungle Book, Swift mimics a flute as she and Johnson play around each other like slithering snakes hissing a haunting melody before the band drops into a spacious groove. Johnson plays a hypnotizing solo, while Swift’s vocals sail on a silvery mist — it’s sexy and sultry, lulling you into a false sense of security, a song that creepily communicates the twisted manipulation of date rape.
Swift included music from Dave Frishberg’s repertoire on her previous album Confessions (2019) and does so again with his 1971 hit “The Sports Page” to highlight the dangers of fake news and politicians with personal agendas, abusing their power and pulling wool over our eyes. Frishberg’s witty lyrics are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago, and Cohen plays a complex solo that builds, swings and really does Frishberg’s composition justice, too.
The most unsettling song on the record is Swift and Hirsch’s bare-stripped interpretation of The Crytals’ “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss), an acoustic arrangement that reveals the truth and allows the listener to truly experience the painfulness in the lyrics. It’s vulnerable, and it’s difficult to listen to – emotional abuse is real.
“As Long As He Needs Me” from Lionel Bart’s Oliver! follows themes of unconditional love – Swift’s honest and raw interpretation is a work of genius as her voice truly shines on a ballad that drips desperately of dysfunction in relationships. And man do they swing! “Prisoner of Love” is an impressive power ballad (covered by greats like James Brown and Etta James) where Swift tells the story of the female character trapped in an abusive relationship and accepting it for fate.
With “Everybody Has The Right to Be Wrong”, Swift excuses those who’ve been unfortunate enough to wind up in a harmful relationship saying it’s okay to make mistakes “at least once”, in a bouncy, Latin-flavoured interpretation of Jimmy van Heusen’s classic. Cohen coolly and deliberately comps as Carter plays a tastefully spacious drum solo.
Closer “Sing” originally by The Dresden Dolls wraps up the album by revisiting all its themes. The song builds gradually until the choral and string arrangement creates the feeling that the world is truly stronger if we stand together, as Swift’s soft prayer turns into a belted plea. She explains, “The song contains multiple social and political subjects. It also did what I was trying to do, which is taking no political opinion. I chose to end the album with this song in hopes that we all can feel for each other, whether we disagree on some issues or not.”
Swift doesn’t hog the spotlight and treat the band as players who exist to make her sound great. Rather they approach the album as equals, each taking their turn to express their interpretation and flavour through the music. And while every song on the album can stand alone as a masterful display of composition, interpretation, and impeccable performance from the whole band, the true beauty of This Bitter Earth lies in Swift’s song selection to tell a thought-provoking and impressively cohesive story of the world today.
Check out Part 1 as I chat to Veronica Swift more personally.
