I have had a rough time trying to figure out an opinion on this record, essentially because there is no constancy in quality. Sometimes the music is fairly weak and luring towards different styles, never transcending them, while Nell’s voice is truly appealing. The whole thing is a mixing of genres and influences that is much too rarely handled with complete success. There is a sense of incompleteness and that’s my problem with this record: the songs are either really good and talented or intolerably flat, as if Nell Bryden could not chose between an intimist indie style and popular pop for the masses style.

“Red” makes me think of Geneva, that is to say, an almost lyrical singing emerging from a brit pop fog. Along with “Daylight” and “Day for Night”, it freshly reassembles elements from Coldplay, PJ Harvey and Dido into something convincing (quite a surprising mixing I know). At first hearing one would certainly believe that this one is the single for the album, for good or bad. The song is a hit single to be. Nell Bryden’s voice is refined and emotional for sure but there are sometimes useless overdubs to enhance it. These three songs are the best, the rest is clearly weaker. “Meridian” and “Alone” are more like lounge country, “White Rose” is U2 style, “Disappear” is copyright Dido. “Holding Out” and “I’m gonna be Strong” are simply unbearable.

So once again, I cannot tell anyone to buy this record blindly. Better listen with care to make your own opinion.

- Angus "used to be" Anderson

/jan 15th 2004/