Search - Kathleen Band Grace :: Mirror

Spreading Her Wings

Jim Newsom | Norfolk, VA | 12/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Kathleen Grace started her artistic life as a jazz singer in the Tierney Sutton mold. In fact, she studied with Sutton, and the influence was clearly apparent on her first couple of CDs. With Mirror, her third outing, she comes into her own, spreading her wings as a songwriter and further refining her distinctive singing style.



Her range as a composer is surprisingly broad and refreshingly eclectic. You'd swear that "Penny" must've from some Broadway musical like Fiddler on the Roof, though Perry Smith's electric guitar solo in the middle gives the arrangement an edge rarely heard in a theatrical production. "Am I Enough Yet" is a tasty slice of jazzy pop while "The Furies," whose lyric is based on Act IV of Hamlet, recalls Peggy Lee's sexy stroll through "Fever." The title track marries a mysterious, repetitive piano figure of a chorus with a folkish verse and a tiny touch of jazz-rock fusion riff thrown into the transitions for good measure.



Grace oozes sexuality on Randy Newman's bluesy "Let Me Go," begging the question of why anyone would. Her voice becomes angelic on the beautifully conceived "A Place for You" and literally lifts to the heavens on the multi-tracked harmonies haunting "Elijah."



Mirror is too short, really an EP not an LP, but in this time of diminished attention spans, it's not a bad thing to leave listeners begging for more. This exceptional disc expands her already intriguing palette as an enchanting vocalist and a songwriter with fresh ideas.



copyright © 2008 Jim Newsom. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.



Originally published in Treehouse Magazine, 11/17/08"