It's tempting to think that this is another one of those occasions where the hype has overtaken the actual product (naming no names...OK, I mean you Sandi Thom) but whilst I can be accused of burying my head in the sand on occasions, it was only after this album shot to the top of the I-Tunes download chart that I heard of it. Which in the long-term would appear to bode well for Walsh - it won't be a case of everyone being bored by her almost in the same instant that she's topping the charts.
So, whether or not it was helped along by an unseen hand, we're talking word of mouth here. So you would expect something spectacular wouldn't you, given that we were assured that downloads would bring respectability back to the charts.
So it's a little disappointing that whilst this is a pleasant enough album, and indeed a likable one, it's one paced and not exactly earth-shattering. Don't mistake me, Walsh has a gorgeous voice and one that you'll certainly fall in love with, but whilst in the short term this helps you to avoid the fact that the songs are all the same, mellow vibe repeated over and over again. I personally got to the stage when listening to the album for the first time of hoping that at any moment now she was going to really kick off with something different...alas that moment never came.
There is the odd moment of genuinely affecting emotion, one prime example would be Don't Break My Heart - I defy you not to moved by that one, but for the most part the album just drifts along, rarely causing you to stop what you are doing and think "wow". Of course that won't stop the critics who love this kind of thing trumpeting this album, and it's success, as another kick in the teeth for the genre's of music they don't like, but that's just life.
I've definitely heard a lot worse and there's just enough of intrigue to make me curious about what comes next, but on it's own there's not enough to entice me back for repeated spins.
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