Sarabeth Tucek

Sarabeth Tucek is the very definition of understated. She’s physically small and her voice is quiet, but it still has the power to cut right through you – as anyone who heard her debut single ‘Something For You’ will testify. Released last February on the tiny indie label Sonic Cathedral it became a word-of-mouth success, being crowned record of the week on Steve Lamacq’s BBC 6Music radio show and raved about everywhere from Playlouder, where it was made single of the week, to NME, who summed up their Radar profile of Sarabeth by saying, “If you don’t think ‘Something For You’ is the most beautiful record released this year, then you might as well fuck off and die.” Such is the power of the song, which is quite possibly the most affecting two and a half minutes of music you’ll ever hear. So why did it have such a big impact? “I don’t know,” replies Sarabeth. “It's a very simple song. Short and sweet and bitter.” As we said, understated.

Sarabeth was born in Miami, but it was while growing up in Manhattan that she fell in love with her mum’s favourite music such as Cat Stevens’ ‘Tea For The Tillerman’ and Simon & Garfunkel. She went on to discover the likes of Neil Young, Big Star, The Zombies, The Velvet Underground, Television, Joy Division, The Dream Syndicate, The Gun Club, My Bloody Valentine and Elliott Smith for herself. However, more than any other, she worships Bob Dylan. “My whole life is wrapped up in his songs,” she explains, revealing, at a push, that ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ and 'blonde on blonde' are her favourites.  “He is wholly original. There will never be anyone like him again.”

This made a support slot with Dylan in Massachusetts earlier this year all the more unbelievable. The story is a simple one, but at the same time it was a dream come true: Dylan’s people were sent a copy of Sarabeth’s album, liked it and asked her to open for him at the Pines Theatre in Northampton. The great man himself even took time out to speak to her afterwards. “It was a surreal experience,” exclaims Sarabeth, losing her understatedness for just a second. “I don't think I was ever so excited about anything in my life.”

In 2002, after relocating to Los Angeles, Sarabeth sang backing vocals on a little-known record by EZT (aka Will Oldham associate Colin Gagon) called ‘Goodbye Little Doll’. The producer was Bill Callahan of Smog who, suitably impressed, called her up a few months later and invited her to Chicago to sing on what would become Smog’s acclaimed 2003 album ‘Supper’. “I’m a big Smog fan,” recalls Sarabeth. “So it was pretty exciting.” Around the same time she also hooked up with Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and collaborated on a few songs that ended up on the band’s 2005 mini-album ‘We Are The Radio’, which also includes a version of ‘Something For You’ that Anton retitled ‘Seer’ (“I’m not sure why”). Sarabeth even makes a fleeting appearance in the infamous documentary film ‘Dig!’ where she is introduced onstage at LA’s Knitting Factory club as Anton’s sister, shortly before he kicks a heckler in the face.

Despite all of her work collaborating with other artists, Sarabeth much prefers to work alone and was keen to make her own album. “I’d been writing for a while and people started responding pretty quickly to the lyrics,” she explains, acknowledging her darkly cryptic words that are reminiscent of the sinister ‘flipside of Hollywood’ atmosphere of Neil Young’s landmark 1974 album ‘On The Beach’. Over two weeks in 2006, she entered the studio with Ethan Johns (Kings Of Leon, Ray LaMontagne) and Luther Russell (Richmond Fontaine, Fernando) to record the 11 tracks that make up her eponymous debut and from the bitter-sweet and sparse ‘Something For You’ to the heartbreaking, string-laden closer ‘Home’ it’s a masterpiece. And that’s no overstatement.