2014 Snake in the Grass - CD with 12 page booklet

In a completely solo endeavor, Dallas composer and musician Poppy Xander, uses her silken voice and piano alchemy to weave vivid stories that blend blues, folk, downtempo, and classical piano into emotional, spiritual experiences and haunting stories, whether they be about slave burial grounds in Tennessee – like “Blackwater on the Rise” – or whistleblowing the misdeeds of the powerful in “Keep Calm and Carry On.” Traces of the piano greats can be heard in her compositions, from Bach and Chopin to Kate Bush, Fiona Apple, and Sir Elton John.  The album, “Snake in the Grass,” composed, performed, and produced by Poppy Xander, is a refreshingly intellectual baroque pop debut.

Recorded at Palmyra Studios in Palmer, Texas with engineers Sam Damask and Pappy Middleton, the album features Xander’s performance on a fully restored 1922 Baldwin 9 ft. Concert Grand and a Korg Stage Vintage Piano. The album was mastered by award winning engineer John Dent, who has produced Marianne Faithful, Radiohead, Massive Attack, and many more at LOUD Mastering in Taunton, UK.  The album also includes several pieces of Xander’s artwork on the packaging as well as a 12-page booklet with handwritten lyrics and artwork for each song.

Xander began composing the album after a six-week solo camping expedition that took her from Dallas to Philly, through cemeteries, boardwalks on the east coast, and parts of the Appalachian Trail.  Upon return, the adventures continued with the title track, “Snake in the Grass,” a song about a local Dallas favorite, The Libertine Bar. These songs, several styled after the German “art song” tradition, are scored for piano and voice as tributes to the past, present, and future.   For those with ears, you will feel this one.