(Instinct Records)
When indie-goddess Isobel Campbell, a beloved, original member of Belle and Sebastian, left the group in May 2002, hipsters everywhere shed gentle waves of tears upon their novelty Ts. They can now get their Belle fix from her first solo album, , and might be satisfied as long as they are not expecting a Belle and Sebastian album. The jazzy wistfulness of Amorino is more appropriate for background music in a cocktail bar than, for instance, the record store in Hornby's \High Fidelity.""
It is not that is a huge departure from Belle and Sebastian. The intense musicality and orchestral arrangements are still present, though, for better or worse, they are significantly channeled through Campbell's own diverse influences.
In the album's press release, Campbell credits Amorino's inspirations as ""French girl singers, psychedelia, Jimmy Webb, Antonio Carlos Jobim, ""The Graduate,"" 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and of course, the most universal of all themes-even in these cynical time... love.""
The influence of cinema on this album is no surprise. At times it feels like you just walked into a hip French film, circa 1965. Yet, the album, which was recorded over three years, seems to lack coherence. The songs ebb and flow over each other in a sort of lush and languid cinematic landscape. It is a pretty picture but it does not do much in the way of getting your blood pumping.
Of course, no one listens to Isobel, or Belle and Sebastian, to get fired-up before, say, a football game, but at times Amorino seems so wistful and whimsical that it can be frustrating unless you are laying down for an afternoon nap or maybe dying. It does not help that three of the tracks are instrumentals-breezy jazz numbers-that negate the very reason anyone would buy this album to begin with: Campbell's truly lovely and haunting soprano.
Campbell's vocals rarely rise beyond a whisper here and, at times, betray an uncanny detachment that becomes tiresome. Yet, paradoxically, her lyric, which are not particularly deep, are sung with such unflinching sincerity that it often works.
Two songs on Amorino deserve special mention. The fantastically titled ""The Cat's Pajamas"" pounces out of nowhere as a romping, big-band Dixie number that sounds both completely out of place and terrific, and the sublime ""Time is Just the Same."" This melodic, closing duet with Eugene Kelly would sound at home on a Belle and Sebastian album.
(Redstar)
Dragonfly is trying much too hard. The Boston-area band aims to make an album that is eloquent in musical craftsmanship and bountiful in sheer number of songs with its debut, Unfortunately, it ends up sounding confused and over-wrought as the album makes its way through 24 songs on two discs.
The band, however, with Miki Singh on vocal, Peter Parcek on lead guitar, Steve Scully on percussion, Marc Hickox on bass and Brother Cleve on keyboards, must be credited for their efforts. They manage to get through both discs without producing any staggering disappointments and they cover the weaknesses of one song with the strengths of the next. The Edge of the World may be a lot to take in all at once, but at least it maintains some appeal well into its second disc.
The first few songs of disc one seem to aim for songs of middling quality and manage exactly that. The opening track, ""Find You,"" achieves a sort of mediocrity that can only come with effort. That mediocrity holds for the next four tracks and Dragonfly only breaks out of this trap halfway through the album.
""Don't Let's Go Again"" sounds like the whining child of funk and electronica. The combination comes off as an uncomfortable pairing that negates the positive attributes of both genres. Instead of embracing its influences, the song pushes away both.
Thankfully, the next track, ""Wedding Ring,"" brings together two genres in an impressively cohesive fashion. Blues and country settle on some common ground with the track's moods of frustration and longing. The slow guitar riffs and gentle background rhythm of light drum work give ""Wedding Ring"" a suitably dreary feel.
The closing track, ""Something Like That,"" is a fitting conclusion for the first disc. It is neither impressive nor disappointing but satisfying, like the 11 songs before it. It is too bad that another disc waits in the set.
It would be great to greet the second disc with some anticipation, but the problem is that Dragonfly puts its biggest mistake where its biggest success should be. The opening song, ""Think About Me,"" sounds like a spoiled teenage suburbanite's attempt at legitimately imitating The Clash, but with too much restraint and not enough effort. The song is also hindered by poor writing, with lines like ""I don't care what you think about me / I don't see what you want me to see / Never walked the party line / Thought it was a waste of time.""
Again, Dragonfly redeems itself with a decent track right after a disaster. ""Lay Low"" may not be the most memorable track, but it manages to get the bad memory of ""Think About Me"" out of the listener's mind. Though lines like ""Lay low there's no one left around / Till the demons are contained with the / Remnants of their pain"" are not Pulitzer-caliber writing, they are definitely a step up from ""Think About Me's"" forgettable lyrics.
The two discs finally finish with ""The Edge of the World,"" which is great Monday morning music. Between the dreariness and exhaustion, the title track mercifully rounds out the 23 songs before it. ""The Edge of the World"" finally comes, and not a moment too soon.
