Through The Smoke Screens And The Pipe Dreams

The Mynabirds “Numbers Don’t Lie”

Laura Burhenn is the kind of soul singer who sounds best when she’s not belting it out, but instead keeping the contours of a great melody sleek and smooth. Her tone in “Numbers Don’t Lie” is sweet yet just a bit salty, and forthright enough to make it clear that her deferential attitude on the chorus comes with a lot of eye-rolling. The tune is a minor marvel, and the production by Richard Swift hits his usual balance of retro warmth and modern textures, which keeps the piece from sounding too much like an overly reverential facsimile of Dusty Springfield style blue-eyed soul.

Buy it from Saddle Creek.