If you walk into a book shop (assuming you can still find one), you'll probably note that most of the bestsellers are huge thick things. Despite the fact that people have less spare time than ever for reading in their busy lives, books are getting longer. In the market, it's known as perceived value for money: it's less about the quality of writing, as much as how much story your money gets you, and punters are more likely to shell out £7 on a 500-page epic than a 150-page novella,
The same is true with album releases. It can be difficult whittling down a wealth of material to just an album's worth, and besides, no-one likes to feel that their short-changing their fans. But sometimes less really is more, and 14 tracks spanning over 50 minutes does seem a bit much, especially when the songs begin to sound a bit samey only three or four tracks in.
Carrie Day's clearly a musical sort, and makes a fair stab of writing pretty songs and sitting looking pretty while playing the piano or strumming an acoustic guitar, but her material simply pretty average and fails to really engage. Understated is one thing, but there's no real dynamic, no range to speak of, nothing that distinguishes one song from another in terms of tempo or style as she stays within a very safe, narrow style of gentle singer-songwriter fare.
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Carrie's voice is ok, but again, doesn't really stand out and in places she tends to sing from the back of the throat, sounding awkward and a little uncomfortable. It doesn't make for great listening, and the lyrics, being pretty mundane, are hardly compensation.
Carrie Day Online
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