Singer-songwriter Michael Sackler-Berner, aka MSB, has been a musical force for over a decade now, doing his solo material, fronting The Slim Kings, and mostly tracking soundtracks for major television shows. MSB grew up in New York, spent some time in Montreal as part of the scene that spawned Arcade Fire, and now resides in Brooklyn, often still performing with The Slim Kings, a band that includes bassist Andy Attanasio and Billy Joel drummer Liberty Devitto.
MSB takes a genre agnostic path, having been influenced by B.B. King, Frank Sinatra, ‘90s hip-hop, and all the usual influences one associates with singer-songwriters. This album Short Stories could be the one that gets MSB even wider recognition. It’s “cherry-picked songs from the last six years,” he says. They are important to him and he’s been saving many of them for this effort.
From the opening gorgeous string-laden “A Thousand Times,” which is a Leonard Cohen-like lament on doomed romance, it’s clear that this is not your typical singer-songwriter fare. He delivers dripping emotion instantly as he sings “If you don’t leave/You can’t come back for more.” The tempo picks up for the British pop-inflected “Death to Upright” with some bright tones and propulsive drumming carrying the tune. MSB has a commanding vocal presence, heard to full effect on the brooding “Slip and Fall,” as he sings “Fall,” you can close your eyes and see a fall as he emphasizes the word.
He moves out of the groove of those tunes to another standout track, “City Living,” which could just as easily fit on a jazz album, given its hip scat vocal. It evokes some of Elvis Costello’s jazzy style and perhaps Sinatra’s influence too. The tune has some rather provocative urban lyrics like “Everybody loves the sunshine/But asphalt makes me complete.”
The syncopated, sung mostly in falsetto “Trouble Is Fun” is another that carries a British art vibe rocking sound resembling The Kinks. There’s another abrupt turn for “Top of the Hill,” filled with revved up, distortion-laden psych-punk, as MSB howls over the clamor. Mellow tones mark the melodic “On Your Own,” another crooner. “Love Right Now” sounds a bit like a Latin Playboys track, less the Latin trimmings, as it’s propelled by a baritone sax and plenty of rhythm.
”Sparkling Eyes” is a lovely ballad with the music gently swaying in waves behind MSB’s clear vocal and soaring, reverberating chorus. “One of You” is another charming love song, where MSB expresses a wide vocal range, with lingering notes in the high register, again with lyrics gliding above the poppy undercurrents. With the closing “Moment to Steal,” we’ve come a bit full circle as full orchestration sits behind his lilting vocal in yet another love song.
The album is appropriately named in one sense, as each tune is usually remarkably different from the other. These are musical stories, not lyrical stories in a literate sense. MSB says, “The goal was to let each song lean all the way into whatever style suited it best production wise.” His vocals are clear, strong, and buoyant throughout as he takes the listener through a journey of emotions, mostly leaning toward the upbeat.
