Catherine MacLellan
Water In The Ground & Dark Dream Midnight (True North)
I suppose that it is just lazy journalism to describe Canadian singer-songwriter Catherine MacLellan as being like Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. However add in a bit of Beth Orton, some Emmylou Harris, a little Gillian Welch and a fair amount of Aimee Mann, and that sums up MacLellan fairly well. This is her third release, and also includes a bonus disc of her debut album ‘Dark Dream Midnight’ – more of which later.
‘Water In the ground’ is accomplished but rather dull. The highlight is ‘Something Gold’ which has echoes of Emmylou Harris. It is the simplest track on the album, and combines MacLellan’s wonderful singing with an acoustic guitar to great effect. ‘Set This Heart On Fire’ shows a willingness to experiment with bluegrass, and wouldn’t have been out of place on the soundtrack to ‘Brother Where Art Thou’. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn’t live up to these two songs, and often ends up sounding like Norah Jones/Katie Melua style light jazz.
Which is a shame considering how good her debut album ‘Dark Dream Midnight’ is. It sounds fresh, upbeat and exciting, with a confidence and sheer enjoyment rare in first albums. Although slightly disappointing, it is definitely worth buying the new album to get hold of this minor classic.
Bryan Jessiman
