We were going to write something about how deeply disappointing Clare Maguire has turned out to be to us at some point, but we'll probably forget and anyhow, we don't see the point in needlessly slagging off an artist, especially one as hardworking and earnestly lovely as Clare.
Her album is a melting pot of sickly, dull, obvious MOR and AOR, the edge slightly taken off by some lovely (if predictable) swooping strings. The lyrics are heavy handed and allude so obviously to the breaking up of a relationship you start to think you're listening in on a very silly and long-winded therapy session. And Clare's voice, which has so much potential to be great, sounds too much like an (accurate but gratingly so) impression of various other singers (Antony, Lennox, Bush... even Florence) that it's impossible to get a full grasp on/of or love.
Having said all that there is one great track other than the already admired singles ("Ain't Nobody" and "The Last Dance"). "The Shield and the Sword" is Clare's trite shtick at its best: romantic, pounding, euphoric, slightly unusual with lyrics that don't do exactly what you expect. It's a welcome highlight in an otherwise schmaltzy wasteland. It's stuck in our heads.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment