I always breathe a sigh of relief when I start one of these female singer-songwriter CDs, and there is reasonably fast percussion. I’ve had enough of farmers market singer-songwriting folkers. Gretchen Phillips is just fast enough to keep the beat on, and that’s fine with me.
“Peola” puts it all together like none of the other tracks do. It has hooks and keyboards and reminds me very much of Sweetheart. Phillips’ voice even reminds me of Rachel Blado’s. “Your Drinking” is a title that ought to be reserved for great songwriting, because it is so serious. No disappointment here. Sure, the chorus “your drinking is breakin’ my heart” is a little unoriginal, but what else would you expect your drinkin’ to do? The verses more than make up the difference.
“Swimming” has great musical accompaniment, like old Cardigans. Thankfully Phillips stays in her vocal range. The lyrics are certainly, uh, thought provoking. This is truly an enjoyable song. She should do some duets with Jennifer Trynin. Their voices would mix perfectly.
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