You Feel This Good by Colleen Coadic

Coadic continues to amass an impressive list of accomplishments,

- Independent release and distribution of five CDs/20,000+ units:

Say Anything ('94)

T o D a Y ('96)

Scream Of Consciousness ('98)

The Opposite Only Better ('01)

You Feel This Good ('04)

- Extensive tours and opening slot performances including Ani DiFranco, Blues Traveler, Dishwalla, Laura Love, Alanis Morissette, Blu Cantrell, Cracker

- CDs and merchandise available via live shows, online via Colleen's official web sites, indie label 12 Records stores, CDBaby, and tour supported retail outlets. Some Soundscan tracking via CD Baby, significantly more expected 2005 'Spring Tour;

- Multiple live media (television and radio) performances, multiple songwriting and performance awards including:

3x recipient of the Canadian government's prestigious national F.A.C.T.O.R awards, 3 categories,

7x Press Pick winner: Anchorage's best performer, best singer, best songwriter ('98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04),

3x winner Alaska's Top Song Of The Year: Pop - Splashpoint - '01, Rock - By Time You Read This -' 04, 'Other' - Shut Off The World, '04

28x Top Ten Broadjam Artist - 20 categories, 4 songs in recent debut week,

- Heavy rotation of two videos I Am - MTV Europe, CMT Canada and Manhattan Cable, NY, and Splashpoint, "Snowdance" Indie Film Festival feature, for innovations in cinematography.

In 2005, Colleen and band are busy with CD #6, expanding their state of the art recording facility, an aggressive US and Canadian media marketing campaign to support a new CD and their '05 Spring tour,

a 12 Records' multi-artist tour featuring three of Alaska's finest artists/groups - playfully dubbed 'Alaskapalooza.'

Expect ongoing excellence from this music driven artist.

FROM THE REVIEWERS:

Those are the ones that get into your private collection past the hundreds of CDs you have sitting on the shelf. And if they're really outstanding, you remember their names. In February of 2002, I reviewed Colleen Coadic's The Opposite Only Better CD . It was pretty steller and I've revisited it plenty. So when I got You Feel This Good in the mail, I didn't have to think long about who this Colleen person is. You Feel This Good opens with Flatbelly and I knew I was in for a great ride. This cut is kind of a middle of the road 10k Maniacs kinda tune until you get to the chorus where Colleen belts out the vocals like her very life depends on it. She's got an incredibly strong voice that, I think, has actually gotten stronger since the last CD.

By the time I listened to By The Time You Read This , it was pretty apparent that there were also no production problems with this CD. It also sounds better than the last. You gotta love it when people get better at their craft. I actually think it's sonically indistinguishable from major label recordings. I was listening to Everything Turns To Gold (You Feel This Good) and I was trying to think of who else Colleen sounds like so I could discribe her without the benefit of audio. I started thinking about Belinda Carlisle with a bit of an edge.

We move through Deeper Than Skin Deep (a funkier sexier vibe) , Hello My Name Is Poor Me and There's A Hole . Not that they aren't worth mentioning. There really aren't any insignificant cuts on this CD. They're all pretty top notch. But I wanted to get to Wicked Kate . Collen sometimes has every bit of directness and darkness of Alanis while holding to her own style and energy.

Better Than This softens a bit musically with kind of a reggae swing to it, leading into Shut Off The World .What's New, How Are You? and Silence Is So Blue bring us to the final track, The Reason .

I've already mentioned that You Feel This Good is technically superb. I've aluded to the excellent musicianship. I've definitely talked about Colleen's vocal abilities and her songwriting is more intricate and refined than the last CD. (As a side note, I'm in the office listening to the CD again for the review and I look around to see everyone in the office bobbing their heads to the music. I think it's a hit with them too. It feels that good.) So, tell me.. why are you still reading and not going out and buying it? genre: Rock

- Chris Lonsberry - ( http://www.chrislonsberry.com )

- indie--music.com

Rating: 8 out of 10

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First off, as you read this remember that I'm a guy. I'm only saying this because I want you to realize that I'm not predisposed to liking the Lilith Fair/Indigo Girls style of music. Some of you are going to e-mail me saying that I'm being sexist and that I'm discriminating against a style of music by even making that statement, but to those of you who decide to e-mail me that I would say, "Read the fucking review before you criticize me."

The fact is that many people have tried to turn me on to the Ani DiFranco/Indigo Girls/Melissa Etheridge-style singer/songwriters for some time. While I like some songs, I'm not a huge fan of the genre. I honestly believe that it's because it doesn't generally speak to me. I can appreciate the music and the talent but I don't connect with the artists at all and while it may be sexist of me to say it, I truly believe that it's because I do not have a vagina. I believe that the genre tends to speak directly to women and while some men might really enjoy these artists, I'm not one of them.

That's why it is such a surprise to me that I like Colleen Coadic's new album "You Feel This Good". The lyrics don't speak to me on any deep level, but the songs are all well written and perfectly performed. The subject matter on here is somewhat standard for the genre. There's the song about conforming to the media's idea of beauty ("flatbelly"). There are a number of lost love/breakup style songs ("by the time you read this", deeper than skin deep"). There's even the "he's scum and you should get away from him" song ("better than this"). Some of you will hear these and it will hit you right where Coadic is aiming. Me? Well, I thought they were good but didn't do much I hadn't heard before lyrically.

However, musically is a whole different story. I'm a sucker for the big hook. We've established that well on this website and Colleen Coadic knows how to write the big hook. "Flatbelly" is a great example of that which had me walking around singing, "Everybody's perfect little me." Not because I felt compelled by the lyric but because the phrase turns on an instantly singable chorus.

Every song is built on a solid musical foundation and honestly, the CD is a joy to play. Some of the same songs I mentioned earlier when talking about the lyrics are my favorites because of the music. "By the time you read this" and "deeper than skin deep" are both gems. The album closer "the reason" is another that just floors me and honestly, I could say something great about every song on this disc.

So, where does that lead me in my recommendation to you? I would say you need to pick up this disc if you've even remotely liked an Indigo Girls or Ani DiFranco song in the last ten years. Coadic has written a great bunch of songs here and you will definitely find something you like.

- cary, musicmisfits

IMS Reviews  (indie music site)

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We last gave an Editor's Pick to Colleen Coadic for her "The Opposite Only Better". And we're going to give her another one for her latest album. "You Feel This Good" is a sincere look at a woman's life in this chaotic world that we all live in. It's a great insight and that's what I like the most about Colleen Coadic-her incredibly envisioning lyrics. Always upbeat despite the weariness of our world, Colleen brings us her art in a form that's so intrusively emotional it's a wonder she's not sitting next to us playing when you listen to her album. Absolutely a must-have for any fans of woman-centric rock.

- J-Sin, smother.net

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The "You Feel This Good" album opens with the warm tones and social commentary of "Flatbelly". This is a great indication of things to come, with a gentle build to a memorable chorus that certainly benefits from Colleen`s clear voice.

The record contains several other tracks along the lines of "Flatbelly" such as "By the Time You Read This" and "Hello, My Name is Poor Me" which both mix the same sweet anthemic pop and rock with lyrics that are downbeat on paper but uplifting in the context of the songs.

Contrasting with these anthems, "Deeper Than Skin Deep", "There`s a Hole" and "Wicked Kate" explore a darker tone with earthy guitars, some tribal rhythms and a vocal that brings to mind a cross between Shania Twain and Alanis Morrisette. There is also an all out pop song in the form of "Better Than This", which has moments of the Eurhythmics is the bouncy vocal line.

It is often the case that a solo artist will either attempt everything on their own, Billy Corgan style, or resort to sequencers to provide rhythm sections for their music. Colleen has sensibly opted for real life people, which has resulted in an album with a high degree of musical integrity - especially as Aaron Anderson on drums and Sean Cobb on bass and keyboards are obviously very talented themselves.

The songwriting, guitar and vocal duties are all taken on by Colleen herself and although the first impressions of the songs are of sugary, hooky tunes with a huge chorus and strong melodies, it shouldn`t take anyone very long to realise that the lyrics are the stillwaters of this album.

- Steve www.the-mag.uk.me.com

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On her fifth album, Colleen Coadic treads cautiously into the gray area known as "art rock." She's incorporated more synthesizers and, on occasion, uses Middle-Eastern wailing techniques to push her gifted voice in a new direction. You Feel This Good is ornate, but never excessively so. Think Peter Gabriel rather than Björrk. Coadic has taken risks here, and in doing so she's made an album that challenges the listener in a way her folk/rock hybrids of the past haven't. The obvious things added are the synthesized soundscapes and polyrhythmic percussion. What's not so obvious, and what makes the record worth buying, is that Coadic is growing into skilled songwriter.

"There's a Hole" is a standout track about overcoming bad memories, introduced by a rather disturbing phone message from a grandmother telling her granddaughter never to call again and to keep her fight with her father to herself. The bad memory itself is never revealed, making this one of those insert-your-own-bad-memory-here songs. Coadic's voice and jangly acoustic guitar are defiantly triumphant. In the third chorus, she offers a positive nugget that is half observation and half idealism. "There is light carpeting the floor. There is love just beyond the door."

More conflicted memories are explored on "Deeper Than Skin Deep," a song about a passionate affair and the infidelity that ended it. Coadic sings amid a swirling synthesizer backdrop. The lyrics turn scathing in an interlude that's broken down to just bass, drums and Coadic's vocal. "Players like you win the/game only by beating good women/with sex and shame/for wanting the passion and love as/well as you," she sings in a percussive rap.

On the downside are songs like "The Reason," the closing track and a simplistic love song. "The Reason" doesn't fail exactly. This is the sort of song Coadic fans have come to expect, and it shows off her voice quite well. On her previous records, "The Reason" may have stood out as one of her best songs. Here, it stands out because it's so plain.

A friend once told me that every city of any size has one woman like Coadic, a woman who writes tons of pop songs, sings as well as Natalie Merchant and spends her career as a local media darling, but never really breaks out of her town. She performs zillions of nights in local bars, slays drunken hecklers between songs and occasionally captures a listener's attention because she works hard and has lovely voice. I don't travel much, so I have no way of knowing if that's true, but I do know this: Anchorage is blessed to have Colleen Coadic in our midst, even if there are dozens of similarly talented women toting notebooks full of songs in other cities. If you need proof, pick up You Feel This Good.

-Scott Christiansen, Anchorage Press

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Colleen Coadic

You Feel This Good

Rating - A

This is Colleen Coadic's fifth release, and she really seems to hit the mark this time. If you enjoy sensible pop, with catchy hooks and melodies that you will find yourself humming everyday than Colleen's You Feel This Good is for you. The CD is aptly title, because it does make you feel this good.

The opening tune "flatbelly" is one of the catchiest on the disc. After five releases Colleen has obviously learned what she is doing in the studio as well as with a pen in her hand when she is writing a song. The title track on this album could easily receive top 40 radio play.

It is easy to see that Colleen is a star in the making and if it weren't for the abhorrent state of the record industry see would easily have achieved stardom by now. Colleen has nothing to worry about, eventually someone in the right place will heasr hwer music and start her on the road to success.

BestFemaleMusicians recommends this CD for fans of Pop, Rock, and even Adult Alternative. BUY IT NOW! What are you waiting for?

- best female musicians.com

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Colleen Coadic

You Feel This Good

12 Records

12 song CD

Colleen Coadic has the perfect voice for an angry young woman. Her vocals cut across the music with edge and grace, drawing in the listener with the first line she sings. The songs are just agressive enough to give the songs weight, and at the same time soft enough to keep the sound intimate. Great stuff!

MISH MASH Indie Music Reviews

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Colleen Coadic 's fifth album You Feel This Good is a collection of tales of life, love, and relationships. Her heartfelt vocals bring out the emotional truth in each of her songs. From the slightly haunting ' Everything Turns to Gold ' to the unpretentious ' Shut Off the World ', you get the feeling that if Colleen Coadic really wanted, she could unleash some seriously powerful vocals.

But as it is with so many great singer/songwriter's, Coadic 's real strength lies in her songwriting. Her lyrics are simple and direct. It's not some vague vision of a perfect world that she's after. It's life and the reality - good and bad - that comes with it. Those little moments of epiphany when you come to terms with how your life turned out, those are the moments Colleen Coadic is after. She's chasing that truth we're all searching for and doing it style and rhythm.

And what she finds may not be pretty, but she doesn't sink into anger or depression. Instead, Coadic takes it as a lesson learned and moves on to something 'Better Than This'. Just take the hint from her song, 'By The Time You Read This'. Coadic isn't going to wait for anyone and she's certainly not going to let her music wait to be discovered. She's putting out there now and she's fine-tuning her talents with each new release.

You can see her range of skills in this new album. You Feel This Good refuses to be limited to the standard album genres. It's a little bit of everything which makes it a lot more interesting. As for the musician, the native Nova Scotian is a rocker who's got the soul of R&B, the personal touch of country, the blunt honesty of punk, and just enough pop to keep you tapping to the beat. Both the musician and the music have a conquering spirit. It's the spirit that can renew your faith in the world on this never-ending ride around the sun.

( 5 Stars out of 6 )

- Teresa Liao, Rikks Revues

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Style: Folk Pop

Quote: "A strong, competent troubadour, she boldly brings her songs of redemption with words that may be particularly encouraging to women."

Hear ye, hear ye, hearken to the voice of hope, the seasoned sound of Colleen Coadic, survivor extraordinaire. A strong, competent troubadour, she boldly brings her songs of redemption with words that may be particularly encouraging to women. But be clear - the girl rocks as well as she incites.

My only question after enjoying her new CD over and over is, why isn't this woman signed? Maybe it's the Alaska thing, I dunno. But You Feel This Good is her fifth project; isn't anyone listening up there? Her music and her talent are as commercial as Sheryl Crow's, and she shows a lot of the same cynical intelligence, commenting on the state of our times with both a ruthless honesty and a tender compassion.

And you get the very strong feeling that she knows too well of what she speaks. From the opening "Flatbelly," a surefire rant against the trap of female perfection, to her precise nailing of "Wicked Kate," Coadic has an eye for the culture's socially accepted snares, and she seems to take wicked glee in exposing them. Yet another thing to like about her, beside her warm voice, her major writing chops, and her arranging talents.

This CD has a wild Tunisian flair to it, from the "sitar-thing" instrument listed on the back cover to the wailing choruses and phrasing. "Deeper Than Skin Deep," with its jangly guitars and African references, features background vocals with a distinctively Arabic feel, which is to say viva la difference. Her searing brainpower comes across strong here:

Players like you think you win the game

only by beating the women with sex and shame

for wanting the passion and love as well as you

but choosing to keep it between just two ...

"Shut Off the World" may be more accessible, with its radio-friendly changes, chart material, but here again the lyrics pierce expectations:

Her loneliness like a broken fence a defensiveness

waiting to be mended is a hidden jewel

is a cosmic garden unattended ...

Coadic reigns over a wide scope of material, and the range of her voice is equally broad. "There's a Hole" showcases her power in every area. Beginning with a disturbing recorded telephone message from her grandmother, she defiantly soars over her pain, choosing to belt out her own healing with words both triumphant and truthful. I'm guessing there are many women who could profit from listening to this song each morning before rising from the bed.

The only fault I find with this record is in its absence from the popular rotation. Come on, Alaska, don't make me come up there!

http://www.colleen.org

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Colleen Coadic leaves no hook unturned. Every arrangement on "You Feel This Good" serves a tuneful chorus with a creative use of full stops, dynamics, percussion, prechoruses, and repetition. "By the Time You Read This" -- the album's first single -- uses a strong melody to pretty up a lyrically ferocious kiss-off ("all that you are is all you are not now to me"). It's not at all shy about putting its hooks in you. Fifteen seconds of suspense building piano and voice effects break into the title chorus. You hear it two more times before the bridge. After a hushed verse over synth, here it comes again. Coadic takes over, belting out counter-melodies over a choir of Colleens, as the chorus repeats. With the pipes, the chops, the passion and the attitude to sell this and more, Coadic careens full tilt throughout "You Feel This Good". She has to on songs like "Better Than This", propelled by Sean Cobb's reggae tinged bass (he's outstanding throughout). Check out the scat solo here to get an idea of Coadic's range. Coadic also plays all the guitar, all acoustic. On the verses of "By the Time You Read This", Coadic's steady rhythm effectively announces the one with a neat double strum. You can be aware of the guitar, if you want to; otherwise it's underneath, helping drive a very driven record. There's nothing fancy in her playing, because the production takes a band approach-with Cobb most of the players -- but the guitar is always at the bottom of a diversity of musical settings, all of which rock. "Wicked Kate" is supported by a raga-tinged melody played on a "sitar-thing". "The Reason" is influenced by middle-eastern melodies. On "You Feel This Good", Coadic's twelve for twelve with radio ready songs that stick and a voice that must melt snow in her home state of Alaska.

© David Kleiner

Minor 7th Webzine

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Colleen Coadic is a lady constantly on the verge of fame.  Seemingly dedicated to staying just outside of the radar, Coadic has recently released her fifth album, "You Feel This Good," to an eager Alaskan and international audience.  But is this eclectic folk/pop songstress worth the price tag?

Many critics have designated Coadic's fading genre as a ship that has long-since sailed.  Female yuppie angst is a trend designated for the mid 90's.  Even Ani DiFranco is collecting her things before getting the proverbial boot.  But Coadic is adamant about holding on in hopes that the times will once again shift and her unique brand of white-whine will come back into style.  Luckily, "You Feel This Good" is just the album for such a movement.

Part sultry naysayer, part soft-spoken confessor with just a sprinkling of unexpected rage, Coadic has found her voice amongst the varied musical landscape with music best suited for the coffeehouse atmosphere.  The song, " By the Time You Read This " is a perfect example.  Here, Coadic chooses the classic lament of lost love and infuses it with the usual sense of blazon resilience and "new-dayism" expected of its species.  It's nothing new, but it's done with such competence that the hackneyed nature can be at least somewhat ignored.

I couldn't help but to feel as though "You Feel This Good" was the intended soundtrack to shows such as "Dawson's Creek" or "Gilmore Girls."  The album has all the markings of what suburbia has labeled "acceptable rebellion."  Take " Wicked Kate ," for example.  It's a little darker, a little more anxious, but still firmly within the lines of the "it's just a phase" mentality.

Coadic is a self-admitted daughter of hippies.  Growing up within a musical cocoon, Coadic is without a doubt in control of her sound.  The diary-esque nature of her lyrics are far too personal to be manufactured and Coadic contorts them with fierce intelligence.  One of the best examples of this strength comes with " What's New How Are You ."  In it, Coadic is able to resist relying on the need for lyrical tantrums and presents a carefully planned, thoughtful song about the pitfalls of insincere relationships.

Now based in Eagle River, Coadic is relentless in improving her approach and promoting a wider audience.  Coadic has been chosen seven years in a row as Anchorage's best singer/songwriter and performer by the press.  Her debut video "I Am" is now getting heavy rotation on MTV Europe and CMT Canada.  With a little luck, Coadic may just convince an apathetic consumer market that her gimmick still has a few last breaths.

"You Feel This Good" will not shock you with originality.  It will not make you believe in deceptively passive melodies if you aren't already a fan.  But it will make you appreciate talented performers in a market besmirched with much the opposite.  Colleen Coadic's latest fare has certainly earned its place amongst the noise.

To find out more about "You Feel This Good" or Colleen Coadic, visit www.colleen.org .

Alex Grantham

Sun Star (UAF)

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Colleen Coadic You Feel This Good (self-released)

Colleen Coadic was one of the first artists to send me a tape when I started A&A more than 13 years ago. I liked her stuff back then, and I like it now. I haven't heard from her in quite a while, and this album is much better than what I heard back then. Coadic has enough personality to raise her music out of the faceless morass of similar singer. She's a fine anthemic folk-rock singer, and she writes good songs.

- Jon, Aiding and Abetting

Contact:

Box 773642

Eagle River, AK 99577

www: http://www.colleen.org

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Colleen Coadic ú You Feel This Good (12 Records)

By Russell Barker

'You Feel This Good' finds Coadic on her fifth album, her sound maturing into a more radio friendly sound. The Nova Scotian singer songwriter is the kind of artist for whom the term feisty may aswell have been invented. This isn't feisty in a horrible angsty way either, it's an emotion indicative of the spirit with Coadic and her music.

The album sounds like something10,000 Maniacs might have made had they gone for a more commercial sound or Pink if she goes for a folk rock direction in future. Sure there's some great big lush soundscapes, tickled with the charm of alt. country but I can't help feeling that it too often veers towards the middle of the road. Which will make it big on the other side of the Atlantic at least if it's given enough promotion, but 12 Records are, through no fault of their own, no Warners. Hopefully it'll happen for her as there's a big audience out there awaiting her music.

- www.russellsreviews.co.uk

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Colleen Coadic is a singer songwriter that currently resides up north in Eagle River Alaska, which according to my 30 seconds of geography research, is somewhere near Anchorage. She has a very impressive resume that includes selling 20,000 copies of her five independent CDs. She has also appeared as opening act for Ani DiFranco, Blues Traveler, Dishwalla and Alanis Morrissette. Since 1998, Colleen has been voted Anchorage's best performer, best singer and best songwriter seven years in a row. And this sounds like no small accomplishment since you probably freeze your ass off going out to see someone perform at an Anchorage night club.

You Feel This Good begins a great track called "flatbelly" that is beautifully performed and is a good combination of adult alternative rock with just a hint of alternative country. Her powerhouse vocals belt out an anthem like chorus and the melody is radio friendly without being pretentious. This tuneful opener is followed up by another excellent song called "by the time you read this",offering up and extremely well crafted melody, lyrics and a humdinger of a chorus.

I quite liked the grit of Colleen's very appealing vocals on "deeper than skin deep", which in addition to being an absolutely slamming track, showcases the excellent musicianship of all around player Sean Cobb, who wields a mean bass guitar and also contributes keyboard parts.

Aaron Anderson's very proficient drumming rounds out Colleen's trio and demonstrates what three seasoned players can do in the studio.

It's difficult to select a highlight on this CD because the effort is uniformly superb. By the time I heard track number six, a song titled "there's a hole" it occurred to me that I was listening to one of the most exciting female vocalists that I have heard in a long time. This is such a polished effort that if any major label A & R folks are looking for someone to grace their stable of artists, then I suggest they give Ms. Coadic a listen sooner than later.

You Feel This Good closes with "the reason", which is a burning declaration of love that is poetic and passionate and gave me a reason to hit the replay button on my CD player. The groove and vocals reminded me of the great and little known Australian group called Frente.

As 2004 is rapidly coming to a close, I will be putting a list together of my top ten discs for the year.

My picks will primarily include CD's I have reviewed for Sound the Sirens Magazine, including Matt Pond PA's Emblems, Bill Janovitz and Crown Victoria's Fireworks on TV and Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose". However, I am taking Colleen's record out to my car, so I can listen to it during my three hour drive to mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I am quite sure this record is something to be thankful for, as I think it is one of the year's best. Colleen's CD is available at www.cdbaby.com.

Madmonk Overall Grade: Too Good To Grade

Phillip Hardy, Madmonk Reviews

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