Melissa Payne was raised in rural Ennismore but relocated to the nearby city of Peterborough, Ontario. She says she's not a city girl but that she doesn't write country songs either.
Despite this, her record label places her fairly squarely in the Alt.Country camp by inaccurately comparing her to Lydia Loveless and Drive By Truckers.
To my ear her singing style is best classified as easy listening pop with a few token gestures towards a rockier sound.
The album was co-produced by Greg Keelor of Canadian country-rock band Blue Rodeo in Keelor's farmhouse studio.
However you choose to classify her music, too many of the tunes are burdened by sleepy, lacklustre arrangements which never really allow the songs to catch fire.
|
Payne has a decent voice, like a slightly raspier version of Lisa Hannigan, but there's rarely enough emotional content or energy to draw the listener into her world.
One welcome exception is Gunning For Me which slides into a Waiting For The Man groove and closes with some rousing rock guitar.
Otherwise, songs like the title track and Bring Me Back are tuneful but fairly dull kitchen sink dramas.
Melissa Payne's website
|
