I must admit that I wondered what all the hype was about the first time I heard this CD. It just didn't grab me. However, a second listen showed me that sometimes, you just gotta look (or listen) twice. Her hazy, slightly raspy voice, smoothly layered over languid guitar, sultry horns and cool percussion was simply captivating.
The opening track, "Like A Star", is a dreamy piece of heaven. If you have ever been in love, even a little bit, this song will make you remember why you fell for your significant other. The album then smoothly segues into "Enchantment", a hypnotic description of falling in love. My favourite line is "I tightrope walk with a blindfold on my eyes". It doesn't get much better than that.
Here she performs "Enchantment" live:
The overall theme of the album is love: wanting it, finding it, being all wrapped up in it, and unfortunately, losing it. "Choux Pastry Heart" will break your heart and have you reaching for tissues. "Till It Happens to You" captures the pain and confusion of watching love disappear, even while you're in the relationship.
Don't worry that the album is all mushy ballads and heartache, though. The sublime girl's anthem "Put Your Records On" will have you dancing and singing into your hairbrush in front of the mirror. It captures quite easily the spirit of summer as well as the feeling that no matter what has gone wrong in the past, you'll get it right eventually. You'll definitely want to "let your hair down", as she sings. "I'd Like To" is another standout track. It's a shout-out to 'back in the day' when things were just simpler and life was more fun (you know, before you grew up). It's also the album's 'sexy' song, with the teasing line "I'd like to put my fingers on you" making it just naughty enough to tickle your, um, fancy.
(AAAWWW! WOW! Thanks, but I didn't make this wicked collage, ok? Wish I did, but it came from the same place all the other pics here did: images.google.com)
All in all, there's something for everyone on this album. It's a self-assured debut, sweetly crafted and intelligently, evocatively written. It's good to know that in this day and age of beats, video girls and empty lyrics, somebody out there is still bent on doing good music.
Here's the album, with a few additional tracks. Enjoy!
Rating: ****
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