Listening to Chloe Makes Music’s "The Puppeteer"
By Eugene K. Chow, published April 28, 2011

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Over here at Pluck Magazine, we recently got our hands on a copy of Chloe Roth’s debut album ThePuppeteer. Subdued and gentle, it’s perfect for those languid hours following lunch when your appetite has been satiated and you sit quietly daydreaming.

Driven by the strength of her voice alone, the Puppeteer is so heartbreakingly pure that it makes your chest hurt. Her soft vocals float dreamily over light finger picked guitar melodies, and at times she sounds eerily similar to Imogen Heap, adding a ghostly quality to the lyrics. The San Francisco native cites Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, & Nash as early influences, and it’s no surprise as the album is filled with serene folk ballads.

Performing under the name ChloeMakesMusic, Roth’s first LP was produced with the help of Morning Benders front man Chris Chu who opted to fill out her minimal sound with lush arrangements on a wide array of instruments including violin, cellos, harmonium, banjo, and even a glockenspiel. These production efforts have helped infuse everything with an ethereal ambiance that conjures up images of maidens in long flowing silk robes airily gliding through an autumnal forest.

Roth’s lyrics evoke powerful imagery as she tells dark tales of Greek gods or describes tender autobiographical episodes from her past. The lyrics read more like poetry and listening to her makes it feel like she were sitting in your living room sharing the most intimate moments of her life.

For instance, on “Bows and Arrows” she longingly writes, “your disappointed face forever lingers/mocking me to shame/still to this day/I can't forgive you for forgiving me those things.” While on “Georgia Peach” she pens, “I laid down right next to you, upon your sheetless bed/and I told you that my favorite part of the human body is/the velvet ridge that separates the bottom lip from skin.” This type of brutal honesty has an utterly disarming effect and you will be quickly swept up into her world.

Particular standouts include “The Duel” a gorgeous duet with Chris Chu, the melancholy “Murphy’s Law”, the whimsical Beirut-esque “The Puppeteer”, and the jaunty gypsy-like beat of “Bows & Arrows.”

Quiet, haunting, and meticulously crafted, the album will linger in your mind long after the last note has faded. 

Released in January, The Puppeteer is available for download on Bandcamp.