Published on Jun 21, 2006
Innocuous lite FM radio is one of the reasons kids
can’t wait to get their licenses. One of the rewards for 16 years
of aural assault is the simple act of turning the dial away from
schlocky mom rock like Celine Dion, Michael Bolton and the
late-career, movie soundtrack work of once-palatable crooners
(there are too many to name).
How a new artist could get away with this negligible
noise these days is befuddling, but the British public has lifted
Katie Melua to platinum status over the course of her three-year
career.
There’s nothing wrong with young Melua’s musicianship
on Piece By Piece, her second effort. The piano and guitar
work is admirable, if way over-produced, and her voice has a stern,
but gentle flow with reflections of Mazzy Starr’s Hope
Sandoval.
But, the music itself is unremarkable and
unmemorable, lacking the smoky ambience that made kindred spirit
Norah Jones a household name in the states. Like the crappy radio
music many of our parents forced us to listen to, it’s lite. All
the ingredients seem to be there, but the hooks are missing.
Piece By Piece, like schlock rock, lacks soul.
The native Soviet Georgian adds an international
flavor to many of these rudimentary love songs, quoting global
population stats on “Nine Million Bicycles” and foreign landscapes
on “Halfway Up The Hindu Kush.” The songs, though, substitute
Splenda for sugar and fail to stick to the ribs.
If there’s a standout, it’s Melua’s cover of the Cure
classic “Just Like Heaven.” Unlike the original, it’s kinda sexy.
There’s a cautiously sensuous swagger to jazz standard “Blues In
The Night,” as well. But, it doesn’t make up for the dismantling
boredom I get from Piece By Piece. It’s the same restless
feeling I got during car travels of yore.
I wouldn’t bar the 22-year-old from U.S. success down
the road, but she’ll have to drop some of the production and pick
up some sass to make a mark.