Serena Ryder is just 24. But her voice, a deep, bluesy, soulful instrument that has drawn comparisons to Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin, makes her sound much older. She also appears wise beyond her years, blessed with an intelligence and confidence that came across in her songs on Unlikely Emergency, her critically acclaimed independent album. She’s definitely an old soul. Ryder’s extraordinary major-label debut, If Your Memory Serves You Well, involves no time-traveling or reincarnation. But it does feature the native of Millbrook, Ontario covering vintage Canadian songs-some of them written more than 70 years before she was born-with remarkable authority. From Shelton Brooks’ “Some of These Days,” recorded by the likes of Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday,” to Percy Faiths’ “My Heart Cries for You,” previously recorded by Ray Charles and Ben E. King, Ryder sings with enough passion and conviction to make them her own. She delivers a stunning rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Sisters of Mercy” and a scorching version of “This Wheel’s on Fire,” which Bob Dylan co-wrote with The Band’s Rick Danko. Continue reading ‘Serena Ryder’
