Alejandra O'Leary

For some listeners, singer-songwriters can blur into one another very easily....especially when one attends a local free venue for more than a few hours, watching the performances come and go. An acoustic guitar and a voice can form a particularly limited weapon when faced with a loud, indifferent crowd.

Thankfully, Alejandra O'Leary has more than enough firepower in her musical arsenal to not only take the good fight to the masses, she'll also have little trouble winning the so called 'battle for hearts & minds'.

On new album 'Nothing Out Loud', the (recently uprooted from NYC) Ann Arbor-based singer-songwriter takes the stripped down versions of her acoustic numbers, adds a subtle keyboard line here, some delicate percussion there, and polishes them up until they positively sparkle.

The initial impression is made by O'Leary's vocal, which effectively mixes the melody of mainstream songstresses with the more quirky leading ladies of indie-folk....anywhere from Liz Phair to even Lykke Li.....maybe it's all the L's? On songs such as upbeat opener Ever After and Rally, her voice is front and centre delivering lovelorn yet wearily hopeful musings on matters of the heart.

It's further in, however, on songs like the hypnotically intricate Tremor, that the singing drops deeper in both tone and the mix, allowing winding keys and understated percussion to the fore. Offering an alternative to the more uptempo numbers, songs like this nestle up comfortably to their neighbours and afford the album a pleasant variety for repeat listens.


Though at times the more impacting songs - which are far in the majority - can dwarf those that lack their memorable lyrics or instrumentation, this is a small price to pay for the soulful pleas of a song like Rally. Demanding an intervention to rekindle ailing romance as it does ("There's a battle in here / And I never want to fight it again / I want you to rally my heart & then win"), the song marries the direction of much of O'Leary's lyrical focus on Nothing Out Loud to the upbeat tone that is a regular charm of the album.


Listening to the two songs posted here gives a sound base for comparing the various speeds at which this album drives, showcasing all the cautious optimism and fragile emotion that continue to appear across the album. One of the more skillful aspects of the songwriting - and one that is apparent after only a couple of spins - is the ability to fuse the two somewhat contrasting sentiments together as though it were the only natural way to approach the subject of loving relationships.

In achieving this blend, Alejandra O'Leary has delivered a charismatic, varied album that delivers on many levels. Also something of a gigging machine, she will be hitting a number of cities in North America towards the end of the year. So as you sit in that aforementioned venue and ponder whether it's worth persevering with another set, just remember that someone like Alejandra might pop up to make it all worthwhile.
- Heavier-Than-Air (August 2009)

Alejandra O’Leary has a lovely voice which compliments each song in her album. Her songs have meaning and are very easy to listen to. I classed this as rock but to be honest it could come under several genres like easy listening,pop and even perhaps some might say folk. The instruments are well suited to each song. I will add that i have nothing but praise for those talented people in the world that don't just sing but also play an instrument. Alejandra being one of these talented people. We even have a 12 year old who has been caught playing Alejandra's album in her bedroom, so this is an album that will appeal to many ages and audiences. If i had to pick just a couple of songs that stand out for me on this album it would have to be 1) Tremor. Its one of those songs that sticks in your memory due to the ease of learning the words and the beat and you find yourself humming it in the most inappropriate of places like standing in a queue in the local supermarket. 2) You Gotta Love Me Sometimes is another one with great lyrics and an uplifting beat. The mp3 price on Amazon is very reasonable and well worth it in my opinion. If you are unsure if this would be your kind of music i recommend clicking through and playing the samples. I am sure you won't be disappointed. We certainly weren't.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of Alejandra's musical talent in the near future. - Media Reviews UK (March 2011)

We get tons of submissions from singer/songwriters coming into the Ripple and to be honest, it gets hard to tell them all apart. Somehow they all seem to fall into this vague morass of love lost, acoustic ballading that becomes a little mind-numbing. Not Alejandra O’Leary.

The very first time I heard Alejandra sing, I fell in love with her voice. Coquettish, mildly childish, kinda like Jewel, but a Jewel that doesn’t get annoying and grate on my nerves. In fact, the more I listen to Alejandra, the warmer and more inviting her voice becomes. And that’s important, because Alejandra’s voice is clearly the main instrument here. That’s not to say the album is spartan. Au contraire! Each song is filled out with a robust arrangement, bringing in different and sometimes unsuspecting textures to play against the guitars. And let me tell you, Alejandra can write a song. The fact that “Ever After,” isn’t already dominating the radio is a crime against musical common sense. Place whatever name you want here -- Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Natalie Imbruglia – and Alejandra will stand tall. “Love I Been In,” is a gorgeous, multi-melodic piece of pure pop perfection. Don’t know how Jack Johnson can sell a single album while people don’t know this song. “Tremor,” may be my favorite song on the album, employing keyboards along with the bass to bring in a delicious, ambient, downtempo vibe while still maintaining all her pop smarts. Radio? You bet. I’m gonna make it my own personal mission to get this song heard. Ripple Radio to start. The world to follow. I’ve fallen in love and I’ve fallen hard.

- The Ripple Effect (July 2010)

One of the great joys of the music blogger's inbox comes when, sandwiched between the latest remix of some pop song that was already shite and the latest mass mailing for a genre one has never covered, a familiar name pops up after quite some time unheard from.

Imagine my delight, then, when three new tunes from former NYC, now Michigan-based singer-songwriter Alejandra O'Leary, dropped into my lap from the digital ether.

Those who have scoured the archives, or with an eidetic memory, will recall a glowing review of O'Leary's 2009 release Nothing Out Loud. Well, prepare for some more superlatives, because these new cuts are just as swathed in charming tone and delicious pop melodies.

MP3: Alejandra O'Leary - Broken Mirror Baby
Taken from the forthcoming, as yet untitled album,
due out later in 2011 - MYSPACE

I've plumped for this one as our Tuesday tune choice - try saying that without spitting all over the computer - thanks to the upbeat intro it's set to provide the new album. A confident, sweeping brush off to an important someone who, unfortunately, only seems to bring trials and tribulations, Broken Mirror Baby powers along on a chunky riff, neat guitar chicanery, and satisfyingly deep percussion.

With the more melodic sensibilities of 90's Britpop on show, yet never afraid to uncover a more delicate side when the guitar reverb momentarily recedes, this track offers a pleasing range of emotion and style. Overall, though, it's a pure cracker to kick back with a cold bevvie and take in, anticipating those brighter days that must be just around the corner.

So download, dig, and sit tight for further posts on that new album. You can also go back and spend some time with Alejandra's debut, if you missed it first time around. Neither choice will disappoint. - Heavier-Than-Air (March 2011)

Even when it was just her and a guitar on stage, Alejandra O’Leary was driven to play rock ‘n’ roll music.

“When you look at artists like Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney, they do have a rock ‘n’ roll power even when they’re by themselves,” said O’Leary, an Ann Arbor resident. “You can’t scream or push it out, but you can let the audience into the song in a different way. I try to be a one-girl band.”

O’Leary doesn’t have to pull the weight of a band by herself anymore, as she is now apart of the Alejandra O’Leary Rock ‘n’ Roll band that has been together for about six months now. The group will make its second trip to Kalamazoo on Friday night, appearing at the Dog Days of Summer Local Music festival both inside and outside the Old Dog Tavern. They’ll open for Kalamazoo buddies Fly Paper, which will be releasing its album and kicking off a nationwide tour that night.

With the risk of making a crass generalization, O’Leary and her bands comes across with a similar sound as Blondie or old-school Cyndi Lauper. While this connection might be made solely because both acts are female-fronted, O’Leary said there’s validity in those claims.

“I love both of those bands,” she said. “Blondie is a huge influence. I think they managed to combine a sweetness and vulnerability with an aggressive and great pop sound. They have a lot of integrity to their pop and I love both bands.”

Still, being a frontwoman does come with some generalizations.

“I’ll have people ask me if I’m more like Nora Jones or Sheryl Crow,” O’Leary said. “I don’t want people to think music has to be so gendered. I think I’m more like Morrissey. I think he does a lot of things with his voice that I’ve tried to internalize and bring to my music. He does a lot of vocal solos.”

O’Leary has one album to her name, a disc called “Nothing Out Loud”, released in 2009. However, the band is working to promote its Sept. 3 release entitled “Broken Mirror Baby”. While the album packs a full-band rock ‘n’ roll sound, just O’Leary and her producer performed on the work.

The full band will contribute to the next recording.

“We don’t play the album note-for-note at shows,” O’Leary said. “With the full band playing, we’ve been reinventing the tunes a lot.”

- West Michigan Noise! (July 2011)

Alejandra O'Leary
Version 2.0
by Chris Berggren

Alejandra O'Leary
Version 2.0
by Chris Berggren

posted 9/3/2011

Welcome to Alejandra O'Leary version 2.0. In early April, the young singer-songwriter introduced a new wrinkle to her already impressive musical repertoire--a backing band. Flanked by Jeremy Frey on bass and Jamie Church on guitar and with John Grandstaff keeping beat on the drums, O'Leary played her first gig with her new band on April Fool's Day, a mere two weeks after forming it.

For those unfamiliar with O'Leary, she is a real talent who has been gaining a strong following in Ann Arbor since she arrived here with her boyfriend, a U-M law student, a year ago. Born in Portland, Maine, O'Leary spent five years as a musician in New York City (where she cut her first album, Nothing Out Loud) before her move to Ann Arbor. Once in Michigan, she had to reestablish a fan base and initially did so by performing her songs solo on guitar. However, vascular problems in her left arm made playing guitar increasingly difficult, so now, with the backing of her new band, she has switched to keyboards.

O'Leary's voice sounds like a combination of Jenny Lewis and Victoria Williams, and her songs are both catchy and fun-- polished, straightforward, and barroom accessible. But they also have a certain lyrical toughness that's reminiscent of another Williams, Lucinda. In "Broken Mirror Baby" (the title track of her brand-new second album), she delivers lyrics about "talking smack and shooting your mouth off" and getting "the wind kicked out of me." "When Will They Learn" is an anti-crush song about wanting other people to realize the faults of her former boyfriend and stop pining over him--a very Lucinda Williams-ish theme.

While her songs stand on their own, O'Leary's between-songs banter shows her confidence in her craft and adds to the entertainment. "This is a drunken country ballad called 'Thinkin' Straight,' which is about not thinking straight," she quipped, full smile, before she and the band started in on a raucous tune that featured O'Leary kicking a tambourine on a nearby table while shredding the keyboards and delivering a killer vocal.

"I love playing with a band," O'Leary admitted after the show. It showed. The band looked equally enthused, and the foursome can only get better with time. While the band wasn't involved in her new album, it certainly adds an edge to her older material, and it will be interesting to see what sorts of songs O'Leary and her musicians come up with collaboratively. Regardless, an already legitimate talent has added a bit more oomph to her rock 'n' roll credentials. I can't wait to see where it takes her.

Alejandra O'Leary and her band celebrate the release of Broken Mirror Baby with shows at Crazy Wisdom on September 3, at Woodruff's on September 7, and at the Tap Room on September 10.
posted 9/3/2011

- Ann Arbor Observer (September 2011)

Alejandra O'Leary
Version 2.0
by Chris Berggren

Alejandra O'Leary
Version 2.0
by Chris Berggren

posted 9/3/2011

Welcome to Alejandra O'Leary version 2.0. In early April, the young singer-songwriter introduced a new wrinkle to her already impressive musical repertoire--a backing band. Flanked by Jeremy Frey on bass and Jamie Church on guitar and with John Grandstaff keeping beat on the drums, O'Leary played her first gig with her new band on April Fool's Day, a mere two weeks after forming it.

For those unfamiliar with O'Leary, she is a real talent who has been gaining a strong following in Ann Arbor since she arrived here with her boyfriend, a U-M law student, a year ago. Born in Portland, Maine, O'Leary spent five years as a musician in New York City (where she cut her first album, Nothing Out Loud) before her move to Ann Arbor. Once in Michigan, she had to reestablish a fan base and initially did so by performing her songs solo on guitar. However, vascular problems in her left arm made playing guitar increasingly difficult, so now, with the backing of her new band, she has switched to keyboards.

O'Leary's voice sounds like a combination of Jenny Lewis and Victoria Williams, and her songs are both catchy and fun-- polished, straightforward, and barroom accessible. But they also have a certain lyrical toughness that's reminiscent of another Williams, Lucinda. In "Broken Mirror Baby" (the title track of her brand-new second album), she delivers lyrics about "talking smack and shooting your mouth off" and getting "the wind kicked out of me." "When Will They Learn" is an anti-crush song about wanting other people to realize the faults of her former boyfriend and stop pining over him--a very Lucinda Williams-ish theme.

While her songs stand on their own, O'Leary's between-songs banter shows her confidence in her craft and adds to the entertainment. "This is a drunken country ballad called 'Thinkin' Straight,' which is about not thinking straight," she quipped, full smile, before she and the band started in on a raucous tune that featured O'Leary kicking a tambourine on a nearby table while shredding the keyboards and delivering a killer vocal.

"I love playing with a band," O'Leary admitted after the show. It showed. The band looked equally enthused, and the foursome can only get better with time. While the band wasn't involved in her new album, it certainly adds an edge to her older material, and it will be interesting to see what sorts of songs O'Leary and her musicians come up with collaboratively. Regardless, an already legitimate talent has added a bit more oomph to her rock 'n' roll credentials. I can't wait to see where it takes her.

Alejandra O'Leary and her band celebrate the release of Broken Mirror Baby with shows at Crazy Wisdom on September 3, at Woodruff's on September 7, and at the Tap Room on September 10.
posted 9/3/2011

- Ann Arbor Observer (September 2011)

Alejandra O’Leary has released an album of high-quality, well-articulated, catchy pop songs that plumb the depths and the banalities of modern life. Influenced by 1960s British compositions and production, the record is wonderfully warm and the songs are well arranged with fleshed out, but never overdone, instrumentation.

The album begins with the pop-perfect tumult of “Ever After,” “Love I Been In,” and “Tremor.” The lyrics crackle with accessible Ivy League intelligence and innuendo. Sleepless nights and frustrated affairs never sounded so good. On “Ever After” O’Leary laments that she’s “tired of giving you my free labor, no time clock, no nights off, well I hate it,” in a Marxism-infused kiss-off. The tracks are both fiery and reflective and are filled with longing and righteous anger.

The middle of the record moves toward pensive territory and features O’Leary’s voice and guitar playing. While this may be familiar terrain for singer-songwriters, O’Leary’s mastery of the pop hook pushes these tracks beyond the realm of the ordinary. Melodies and choruses stick in your head and you find your self humming a refrain with a feeling of warm satisfaction. Nothing Out Loud picks up again towards the end with the standout “I Love Your Tone,” which could just as easily be an ode to an electric guitar as to a lover. The smart songwriting and arranging on Nothing Out Loud places O’Leary in the company of powerhouses like Liz Phair, Britpoppers Elastica, or even the 1960s country-inflected indie rock of She and Him.

While O’Leary’s song craft may be new to many listeners, she has been writing and performing guitar-based pop for well over a decade. As a teenager she graced the Thursday morning airwaves on Southern Maine community radio appearing as a guest on a friend’s show under the guise of “Guitar Girl.” As a listener and aspiring musician I was always impressed by her bravado to perform live on air. Since then, O’Leary has honed her serious commitment to song writing and used that same bravado to create a playfully mature record.

Review by Eleanor Whitney
- Feminist Review

Alejandra O’Leary has released an album of high-quality, well-articulated, catchy pop songs that plumb the depths and the banalities of modern life. Influenced by 1960s British compositions and production, the record is wonderfully warm and the songs are well arranged with fleshed out, but never overdone, instrumentation.

The album begins with the pop-perfect tumult of “Ever After,” “Love I Been In,” and “Tremor.” The lyrics crackle with accessible Ivy League intelligence and innuendo. Sleepless nights and frustrated affairs never sounded so good. On “Ever After” O’Leary laments that she’s “tired of giving you my free labor, no time clock, no nights off, well I hate it,” in a Marxism-infused kiss-off. The tracks are both fiery and reflective and are filled with longing and righteous anger.

The middle of the record moves toward pensive territory and features O’Leary’s voice and guitar playing. While this may be familiar terrain for singer-songwriters, O’Leary’s mastery of the pop hook pushes these tracks beyond the realm of the ordinary. Melodies and choruses stick in your head and you find your self humming a refrain with a feeling of warm satisfaction. Nothing Out Loud picks up again towards the end with the standout “I Love Your Tone,” which could just as easily be an ode to an electric guitar as to a lover. The smart songwriting and arranging on Nothing Out Loud places O’Leary in the company of powerhouses like Liz Phair, Britpoppers Elastica, or even the 1960s country-inflected indie rock of She and Him.

While O’Leary’s song craft may be new to many listeners, she has been writing and performing guitar-based pop for well over a decade. As a teenager she graced the Thursday morning airwaves on Southern Maine community radio appearing as a guest on a friend’s show under the guise of “Guitar Girl.” As a listener and aspiring musician I was always impressed by her bravado to perform live on air. Since then, O’Leary has honed her serious commitment to song writing and used that same bravado to create a playfully mature record.

Review by Eleanor Whitney
- Feminist Review