Search - Rachael Cantu :: Run All Night

Rachael Cantu doesn't do anything revolutionary on her short and sweet debut record, but her confidence and appealing voice don't take long to get their hooks in. At eight songs and just over 27 minutes, Run All Night sweeps by like a vapor spray on the ocean--fresh and barely there. Cantu started her career in Southern California (before relocating to her current home in Boston), and some of that leisurely West Coast nonchalance clearly stuck. Her East Coast life brought her into contact with alterna-Goddesses Tegan & Sara, and some of their sharp melodicism is apparent here on tracks such as the smart and sunny "Saturday" (on which Tegan contributes a backup vocal). Later, a duskier mood settles in, set off by Cantu's hazy yet expressive tone. Whether fighting through a layer of reverb on the spare "Blood Laughs" or putting a spark into the slow build of "My First War," her vocal versatility gives the record an alluring glow. In fact her voice is so clearly up to the task, you keep wishing she'd loosen up a little musically. Then again, it's refreshing in a way to hear a debut that doesn't scream "look at me!" with all its might. Cantu should have plenty of people looking anyway. ?Matthew Cooke