Nominated by: Kevy
Music club: Wander to Wozza's
This is Mel Parson's 5th album apparently. None of her other albums have reached my ears. I guess because The Sound doesn't playlist her work, and there aren't any C'Mon/ Radio With Pictures/ Grunt Machine TV shows featuring music these days (I don't think - I no longer watch TV One/Two/Three).
Luckily, I have the WTWMC album choices to keep me up to date (Kevy is the hip one amongst us - in more ways than one).
NZ music has come a long way. Outside of Split Enz/Crowded House/Hamilton County Bluegrass Band I can't think of too many other NZ bands/artists who have done 5 albums. Back in the day, most bands flamed out or broke up after one or two albums.
So, good for her, Mel is sustaining a career, and is still going strong (Kevy reports that she's just released her sixth!)
Slow Burn, the album, has a nice sound. Slow Burn, the song, is an early standout track with lovely piano and pedal steel (I think). She has a great, easy to listen to voice. No worries mate.
Generally things go swimmingly until the middle section - Headland sounds like she's aiming for a Florence and the Machine approach which I'm not that keen on and then Tunnel Vision is just a meh song.
Things immediately improve with the country rock Lone Justice style songs -Tired Of Being You and, even better, Darkness. Ordinarily, I'm a day person but there is a light and shade to the album that works well. On Darkness she carries of that trick of sounding perky but singing about something negative - in this case darkness crawling into 'your heart'.
Well done Mr Simms - a fine discovery!
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