Customer Reviews

Shimmer

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Shimmer is barely an album at 7 songs (23 minutes), but song-for-song it is a dense, robust collection of well-written music. Brown is the 37-year old daughter of singer songwriter Greg Brown. With two albums behind her, the songs on Shimmer are spare - her voice is sultry, sleepy and stripped down, almost ethereal. The style and feel of "Hey Joey" among others smacks of Dad's style (a huge compliment). Big Hoopla producer Don Was produced this CD - in all honesty, I could have produced it - push "record" and get out of the way.

GENRES: Contemporary Folk.

BUY IF YOU LIKE: Patty Griffith, Mindy Smith, Rickie Lee Jones.

MUST HEAR TRACKS: "I Know a Girl," "Hey Joey," "Diamonds in the Sky," "You're My Lover Now."

Pieta Brown gets unplugged on her new EP, "Shimmer." This collection of 7 songs, running 22 minutes total, is a fine showcase for Brown's breathy voice (think Margo Timmins meets Rickie Lee Jones) and her strong (if still developing) songwriting skills.

"Shimmer" is a quiet, mesmerizing experience. Without the trappings of full-on band production, her songs and voice come to the fore. "I Know A Girl" has a sweet sound, "Hey Joey" is kind of catchy, and "Diamonds in the Sky" is just fantastic. This EP definitely explores her folk/country side while choosing to ignore the occasional jazzy arrangements of her last full album, Remember the Sun. This is both good and bad. On the one hand, it focuses the sound into a more coherent experience. On the other, it lacks a little in variety and never showcases her full vocal talents.

Overall, this is a fine reminder of how skilled Pieta Brown is, and will please those who are fans already, while hopefully bringing some new listeners into the fold.