Paper Moon
Artist: Mancy A'lan Kane
Label: PMG
Time: 10 tracks/40.06

From the title and the appearance of this pre-release, I was expecting this to be an acoustic singer/songwriter project. When the CD started up I found I was wrong. This is more an alterna-pop album, with reminiscences of Sarah Masen's self-titled album popping up, and child-like female vocals sounding like a mixture of Victoria Williams and Leigh Nash (Sixpence).

Instrumentally, this album mixes guitars and programmed beats with a lot of keyboard. The sound is very commercial, with quite busy arrangements providing a multi-layered backing for the vocals to fit well with. Some of the arrangements sometimes come across as a little cliched, and the project has a sheen that sometimes puts me off, but at other times I really like it.

The lyrics are poetic, looking at a number of ideas, but staying mainly with the themes of love, trials, and hope:

    After the rain
    After the pain and all the sorrow
    When today turns to tomorrow
    The sun will shine
    (from "After The Rain")
This is an interesting, and often engaging album, and it will be interesting to hear where Kane takes future albums. The diversity of sounds seems to suggest a need for stronger focus, but there are several good singles here.

By James Stewart