Reviewed by Eric Saeger
Zero 7-style chill in unrequited search of a hook. Part-time Decemberist Petra Haden and her violin have experimented with a lot of things, perhaps too many; after hearing this – which should have been titled ‘Variations on Girl From Ipanema For Overeducated Soccer Moms’ – I can state without reservation that her mission in life is that of the perennial sideperson, not someone who should be the marquee front of a tenuously avant garde project that does nothing to move things forward. This pretty but pretty worthless album kicks off with Haden throwing on a spaceshot Cardigans mask for the ditzy Rhodes-driven ‘You Feel Right’, leading one to expect some dated late-90s pop, but the rest of this thing is all about barbecue chill, though without the modernity and listenability Zero 7 comes up with at will. Curveball track ‘Shadow Blind’ is a seriously annoying listen that would have been best left off this collection of toss-off designer interior decorating.
Grade: C+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-L_WeH3mg0
