Renata Zeiguer Celebrates Her Second LP at the Sultan Room

July 11, 2022

Renata Zeiguer – Sultan Room – July 8, 2022

“How do you pronounce your last name?” someone asked Renata Zeiguer (pronounced: Ziger, rhymes with tiger) on Friday night after she checked if the Sultan Room audience in Brooklyn had any questions for her. The last name apparently means watchmaker in German. The show, put together to celebrate the release of her latest album, Picnic in the Dark, felt an appropriately intimate setting for the occasion, one featuring the NYC singer-songwriter’s friends and family (her mother and brother were in attendance).

Both Zeiguer’s voice and how she uses it as its own instrument are impressive. Sometimes it’s the star and other times — and often within the same track — it’s the band that’s locked into a groove with Zeiguer’s vocals added into the mix as another layer. “Sunset Boulevard,” the hook-heavy jaunt reminiscent of a ’60s-girl-group pop song, unravels itself with Zeiguer’s high ooohs following along to the jam, featuring some harmony assistance from friend and opener Sarah Pedinotti. 

Perhaps due to her multi-instrumentalist background, Zeiguer pens songs where the background instrumentation isn’t just the backbone but it’s essentially everything — there’s no distance between the song and songwriting. Will Graefe brings to life some of these worlds with his guitar-tone wizardry. On “Picnic in the Dark,” there’s Hawaiian-sounding slide guitar chasing down Zeiguer’s voice. On “Burning Castle,” there’s a menacing guitar riff to greet every twist and turn. “Follow Me Down,” off Zeiguer’s previous album, Old Ghost, begins at a steady pace before splintering into a full-on rock ruckus. The backing band visibly enjoyed themselves throughout the night, ending the encore with the rip-roaring “Wayside” followed by a big group hug. —Dan Rickershauser | @D4nRicks

Photo courtesy of Dan Rickershauser