Miranda Lee Richards was born in San Francisco and the west coast vibe is fairly evident on her second solo album not least in the unhurried, laid back approach.
The album features eight relatively lengthy tracks although, to be honest, none really needs to be more than four minutes long. The extended tracks are deliberately designed to encourage punters to "slow down, listen and reflect".
Time was clearly not of the essence since it was recorded at the singer's home studio, The Sandbox, with producer husband Rick Parker.
The slo-mo Americana is a mixed blessing. For instance, the languid It Was Given is a ponderous affair but the leisurely ambience helps create a brooding undertow to the bluesy First Light Of Winter.
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Strings and jangly guitars give Tokyo's Dancing a Harvest Moon feel and the easy going melodies overall make it hard to imagine that the singer once worked with the more abrasive Brian Jonestown Massacre.
"I don't feel happy, but I don't feel that bad", she declares on Little Radio and this sums up the mood of a set of tunes that are far from downbeat but struggle to give the listener with reasons to be cheerful.
Miranda Lee Richards' website
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