32 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JULY 13-19, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com MUSIC If something is different about Cindy Alexander, it’s not the power of her lyrics. The singer-songwriter, who has held on to the edgy credibility of an emerging artist through 10 previous albums, has crafted something anthemic, infused with pop yet true to herself. “Call Us What We Are” is the first single from her new album Messy, which Alexander celebrates with a release concert on July 15, part of the annual Music in the Forest at the Outdoor Forest Theater in Carmel (for more on that, see Hot Picks, p. 28). The sound may represent a departure, but Alexander’s lyrics remain defiant, honest, bitter and sweet, with jabs of humor that compel listeners to hone in on her words and know the something that is presented. “It would be a lie if I said it’s not all personal,” she says. “There are times I’ll take on a character, but I have to connect with it.” In “Call Us What We Are,” Alexander plunges into the teetering emotions of a breakup. “Is that my scrunchie holding up her pony? / I kinda want to pull it, but I won’t.” It was written not in the wake of a relationship, but in the flickering ashes of an argument with her husband. “I thought about those angsty relationships, how obsessive things can be when you can’t completely have someone,” Alexander explains. “I just channeled the energy I was feeling.” Alexander has never been one to throttle back her words. Two decades of recording, performing and life—the death of her mother, the birth of twins, a breast cancer diagnosis in 2013 that led to a double mastectomy—have strengthened an independent, ‘You don’t like it? Fine’ attitude. Granted, Alexander has never been comfortable with labels giving her direction. After winning NBC’s Star Tomorrow in 2006, she refused to sign the recording contract intended as the talent program’s grand prize. “The labels always have an opinion,” she points out. “Literally someone said to me, ‘You’re not blonde and you’re not 21.’” Another change in Alexander’s life is her recent move from Los Angeles to the Big Sur area. She says it has long been a favorite vacation spot, and a “someday” home. “When life happens the way it did, it made us reevaluate what someday is,” she says. “I’ve never been 100-percent sure of anything in my life except that I belong here.” Music in the Forest 5pm Saturday, July 15. Outdoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita Street and Mountain View Avenue, Carmel. $32. 622-0100, pacrep.org. PIPER FERGUSON Words Matter Cindy Alexander is happy to shred the boundaries of genre as she releases a new album. By Dave Faries Cindy Alexander promises an “amplified acoustic set” to celebrate Messy, her 11th album. The award-winning singer-songwriter uses inflection like a scalpel. PRESENTED BY
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