Checking in on faded musical artists is like looking up former high school classmates on Facebook. It’s almost always a little bit sad.
Shea Seger released The May Street Project in 2000 to a fair bit of critical acclaim and promises of a fruitful career as a songwriter and performer.
Nobody heard from her again until 2010.
Continuing yesterday’s focus on one-hit wonders, I’m turning today to Shea Seger, a singer-songwriter from Texas whose 2001 album, The May Street Project, is a refreshing blend of modern studio wizardry and appealing Lilith Fair-ready folk rock.
I guess it’s not even accurate to call Seger a one-hit wonder, because she never really had a hit. One song, ‘Clutch,’ was released as a single but I’ve never heard it other than on the album itself.
I posted ‘Clutch’ as a Song of the Day in early 2010 and was surprised to see it handily dismissed by the commenters. I’ve always loved that song.
Here’s one for the “where are they now?” file. Of course, nobody really knew where Shea Seger was then either. Then would be 2001, when she released her first (and only) album, The May Street Project.
Seger is an interesting mix of a Norah Jones-style balladeer and a hip-hop sensibility. She strikes me as a more accessible version of Ani DiFranco or Tori Amos, which if you think about it is a really great thing to be. I don’t know if I can think of anybody recording today who fits that niche. The May Street Project was well-received critically and Seger had a minor hit with today’s SOTD.
Meet Me In Montauk 