eMusic Review 0
It's almost like sliding into a time warp. From the first tentative notes of her tasteful finger-picked acoustic guitar to her hushed voice and the strings that colour some of the material, Lou Rhodes sounds as if she's channelling the spirit of early '70s English singer-songwriters. Yet surface impressions can be deceptive on One Good Thing, her third solo release. Although the stripped-down sound aims firmly at the retro, it can't always keep its grip on the past, slipping — gently, occasionally — into the present day. This is courtesy of small studio touches from Rhodes's former Lamb bandmate, Andy Barlow, and it's most noticeable in the unnatural way the voice or a guitar note will hang and quaver in the air before slowly vanishing. But it's done in such a subtle way that it enhances, rather than intrudes on, the album's breathy intimacy. Even the wonderfully spare string arrangements hover around the songs instead of sweeping them along.
Lyrically, Rhodes also takes a stronger stance then her singer-songwriter forebears. Where sensitive '70s troubadours revelled in their butterfly fragility, Rhodes chronicles her personal life with striking stoicism. Listen past the breathy vocals and she's not singing about weakness, but resilience and… read more »
