This Storm

Sonya Kitchell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 2, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B001ATO9EI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,928 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. For Every Drop

2. Borderline

3. Running

4. Here To There

5. Walk Away

6. Fire

7. Soldier's Lament

8. Robin In The Snow

9. Who Knows After All

10. Effortless

11. So Lonely

12. This Storm

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poppy, rocky, a little jazzy, perfect for adventurous NPR mug owners, September 9, 2008

By 

Sanpete (in Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Storm (Audio CD)

(What's this?)

Kitchell has a breathy, sultry, smoky, nimble voice, plays guitar, and writes her own songs reflecting a soul of indeterminate age (she's 19). Her vocals invite a range of comparisons. Joni Mitchell is an influence she's proud to own, though they have rather different voices. Her voice is a shade darker than Norah Jones', with more chestiness that gives it an interesting complexity. At different times she also makes me think of Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Jesca Hoop, even kd lang, and she likes to do a version of that "oh oh-oh oh" thing that Chrissie Hynde does on "Back on the Chain Gang."

She works here with producer Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Patti Smith) and the Barr brothers from the Boston band The Slip. They bring together a variety of styles suggesting comparisons and labels from The Pretenders, The Band and The Rolling Stones to smooth jazz to alt-rock. There are jangly, peppy pop songs, a quiet ballad with Kitchell and her acoustic guitar, a flowing ballad with strings, a rocker with stinging electric guitar and rough vocals, all still smooth overall.

Taken together, it doesn't sound exactly like anything else. There's a note of refined discretion about it that feels a little confined to me (thus my little NPR snark). At the same time it's fresh and fun, mellow and moving. Four and a half stars, rounded up.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent background music, December 16, 2010

By 

Stephan Nance (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Storm (Audio CD)

(What's this?)

This album has a nice overall sound, and I find that I'm content to listen to it while I'm doing other things (cleaning, organizing, etc.). Most of these songs have a driving force behind them that for me is conducive to productivity.

That being said, I have never found myself thinking about these songs later, or humming them, or feeling compelled to open my computer just to listen to them. They feel more invented than inspired. Lyrically and musically they're very standard, so they're pleasing to the ear but not too intriguing or engaging if you're more of an active listener or someone who enjoys a more experimental style.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you enjoy hanging out at Starbucks, you'll probably like this., August 27, 2008

By 

Kevin Nicholls "jaded, aging hipster" (Milford, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Storm (Audio CD)

(What's this?)

As others have noted, This Storm has the quintessential "coffee house" feel to it. While that isn't an innately bad thing, it isn't an original thing, either.

Compared to Cold Day, This Storm may lead a person to think that Kitchell went on an extended sabbatical with Tori Amos and Joss Stone. To suggest that this album has "influences" is akin to saying that Amy Winehouse gets inebriated "from time to time".

Again, this isn't a *bad* album. But Kitchell tries too hard to delve in to areas she simply is not good at. Every Drop starts out like an early Imani Coppola song, and winds up as a folk-goth-pop hybrid which, while interesting, isn't good. Borderline starts with a heavy pop sound, but goes absolutely nowhere. From there to Soldier's Lament, you have some Starbuck's background music -- stuff you don't really notice or care about, but which has the decency to be inoffensive and totally uninteresting.

At Soldier's Lament, you're met with a decent acoustic track that's basically been done a thousand times before. Fortunately, this is followed up by four solid tracks. Clearly, the person who arranged this album decided to save the best for last, because "Effortless" and "So Lonely" do a commendable job of making up for the rest of the album's shortcomings.

All said, if you're already a fan of Sonya Kitchell, you'll probably enjoy the album. Fans will see "how she's grown as an artist" and will likely overlook the weaker tracks. On the other hand, if you're just becoming aware of Ms. Kitchell, you owe it to yourself to start at the beginning and pick up Cold Day first.

This album doesn't disappoint, but for many, it will become one of those "Hey! I forgot I had this!" discs that you find in the back seat of your car -- not a "Who the heck ran off with my Sonya Kitchell disc?" album.