- by Mark Perlaki
- Friday, April 18, 2008
The bunting remains tattered and the ticker tape stuck like bubblegum to the pavements - the fanfare of hype and anticipation that surrounded the release of Duffy and Adele's albums remains muted for the arrival of the Dawn Kinnard. More the better, and we can focus on the merits of this minxy young feline lady. Like a less-kooky Sia, a frustrated Beth Orton or Rickie Lee Jones, a lachrymose Katie Melua with shades of early morning Mazzy Star, Kinnard's voice .phps and crackles alongside the piano-led soft-rock ballads with a lush production from Martin Terefe (KT Tunstall, Martha Wainwright, James Morrison). So, it's like this - your in church, and the preacher is doing his touching you with the presence of the Holy Spirit thing. But you don't fall. Not really. You do the courtesy fall. And you have the album name right there Ladies and Gentlemen - that's 'The Courtesy Fall'.
'All In Your Head' stridently opens the casket leaping over boulders with a world-weary tone, and 'Devil's Flame' hams it up with parentheses of Queen-style guitar among the wrong choices, Kinnard inviting all and sundry - "...come to me darling/ come to me love/ come to me you who've been brushed beneath the rug/ / you might be in danger/ of the Devil's flame...", while the pounding piano and thrashing drums of 'Island' fail to float an indifferent song with Coldplay leanings. Songwriting details come to the fore on the solo guitar sketch of 'Lean On The Glass' and the rhythm-rich snapshot of 'Pennsylvania', whilst songwriting is shared with her buddy Cerys Matthews for 'One Little Step', an emphatic piano and drums belter that leaves nothing to ambiguity and makes clear why she wants the house and car - "...you got the best of me/ yearhh...".
Look instead to 'No Different Now', an altogether summier moment with the soft-top down and the edginess tempered by an optimism, while 'Fortuneteller' parades the candle-lit cabaret jazz circuit with a Winehouse grace and Marlene Dietrich confidence, Kinnard's tobacco-.phped voice cooing now like a songbird amidst Wurlitzer organ and digi-doodles. The dreamy 'Clear The Way' finds a duet and love's embrace with a starry wonder on a an alt-country-soul cinematic ballad, Kinnard singing - "...when we meet/ it's like stars lose their grip...", and 'You're My Kite' remains defiant - "...I won't go to sleep..." on a chipper recherche Gilbert & Sullivan-style number, while the top notch 'Stop and Start' finds its' stride amid faltering rhythms to a Sia-ilke melody with swooning organ. The epical closer, 'White Walls', allows Kinnard to go for gold with all the rollicking pomp she can muster while Vangelis-like synth-waves float above.
Dawn Kinnard's unlikely to remain the artist you can keep to yourself for long. What is less clear are her influences - with grandiose numbers such as 'One Little Step', 'Devil's Flame' and 'White Walls' reminding of stadium sized acts, juxtaposed to a love for the old torch-songs of the jazz singers seen on 'Fortuneteller' and 'Clear The Way', 'The Courtesy Fall' is the sound of an artist finding her feet, finding her voice amidst the din and hype. An artist with integrity, gumption and promise.
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