Tom Lynch

The name of the project was sparked by a vision--musician Sarah Assbring, staring out into the sea, alone, hoping for a change in her life, anything, something to break it up and make it all worthwhile.

A dog appears. From nowhere. On the shore, at the tip of the sea. Assbring took it to heart. An artist was born.

Though she had been making music all her life, she was never entirely satisfied with her creations, so she went back to basics, as it were, and wrote new songs, as El Perro Del Mar, with an emphasis on simplicity and honesty, putting all the chips on the table. This resulted in the three EPs and seven-inch split with Jens Lekman that, compiled, make up her debut self-titled record. The album, released here in November of last year, is a marvel--comprised of gentle acoustic guitars, minimal percussion, some cymbals, chimes, organ, plus Assbring's vulnerable, atmospheric voice, the record is documented evidence of textbook introspection finally, painstakingly, leaked out. Assbring desperately croons "Come on over baby there's a party going on" with a longing comparable to a person stranded on a desert island, pleading for human contact. The Phil Spector-like sound--albeit lo-fi--helps, too, as does Assbring's dedication to sixties-girl-group backing vocals.

"I was very eager to write and produce my own music for the first time, on my own," Assbring says. "I had, for quite some time, a vision that had been in my head. I wasn't really sure it would work, it was really just something envisioned in my mind, a collection of ideas and harmonies and melodies."

She says that the less-is-more approach was always part of the plan. "I think it's better to leave out things rather than do too much," she says. "To do something for [the listeners'] imagination, [for their] own interpretation, that's always the kind of artistic expression that I like." She feels the same way about her lyrical approach--many songs feature her belting out a repeated line over extended lengths. "I think that was something that was very much a part of the idea that I had," she says. "Earlier I felt that I over-wrote myself. I was very eager to explain things and express things. I felt I missed the whole point of what I was trying to get across by using too many words--so this technique I learned the more I grew certain enough of what I wanted to do."

While it has the feel of a traditional "breakup" record, El Perro Del Mar's debut, according to Assbring, is more an album about breaking up with yourself, changing your life, closing the book on your past with one cathartic move. "The whole project... is very much [about] the change," she says, "a change that was very huge that I went through a couple of years ago, where I set out and wanted to change what I wasn't happy about with myself and my life, and perspective on life. A lot of things--almost the whole foundation of myself. The record and the songs are very much about coming to terms with that, and in a way parting with that side of me, the part of me that I no longer wanted to hold on to."

She adds of her battle with identity: "I don't think I would be here right now if I hadn't done that. The record would've never existed if I had never gone through that period of time."

She also concurs that, despite the overall despondency to be found here, there's much humor and sarcasm imbedded in the songs as well--after all, if books and movies have taught us anything, there's nothing more entertaining than the down-and-out. "There's a lot of sarcasm," she says. "[That's the] thing that people overlook or don't really understand--there's a lot of humor in the record. I think that was another thing I wanted to change about myself, to not be so serious."

While Assbring visited New York City last November for four sold-out dates, this is her first full tour of the country. "I'm very excited," she says. "It's very difficult to expect anything. I think it's more fun and more exciting to not expect too much and keep my mind open to what's gonna happen."

El Perro Del Mar plays March 6 at the Lakeshore Theater, 3157 North Broadway, (773)472-3492, at 8pm. $12.

(2007-02-27)

Also by Tom Lynch

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