Stand Still, Look Pretty - The Wreckers

I like Michelle Branch. The Spirit Room was a mighty fine debut (and because I picked it up whilst in Toronto it always reminds me of that) and Hotel Paper, despite the seemingly indifferent reviews (and the fact that Branch herself apparently hates the "direction" she was forced to take for that), had much to admire as well.

So it's with mixed feelings that I come to a The Wreckers CD; sad that Branch's solo career is on a hiatus, but glad that at least she is still a recording artist. And we all know that I am not averse to a little Country 'N' Western from time to time either.

The problem with this collection is that whilst it arguably works as a Country 'n' Western collection (even if the C'n'W in question is the new Nashville sound rather than anything that, say, Johnny Cash would have come up with), it lacks that little spark that would seperate it from the chasing pack. It's not words like "vital" and "spirit" that come to mind when listening to this album, it's words like "pleasant" and "inoffensive".

Still there are the occasional moments where the whole thing comes alive. However even the strongest tracks are revealing, being the Patti Griffin cover One More Girl and the Billy Austin/Jennifer Hanson cut, Leave The Pieces. Their own compositions just can't compete (although ironically, Leave The Pieces also happens to be better than anything on Jennifer Hanson's own self-titled 2003 album).

Yes the album is easy on the ears and offers up some enjoyment, but you can't help but think that it's a missed opportunity. The fact that Branch went to such lenghts to push through the release of this album makes it all the more ultimately unsatisfying.