Producer: Stephen J. Seltzer w/ Claire Harding, Engineer: Not Credited, Tracks: Flat World; Cash; Sorrow; Smalltown Boy; Water (Breaking Over Knees); Something Missing; Crazy; Love Song; Valentine; It Never Gets Better (Than This); Next Train to Happiness; Soccer; Flat World (Fancy Schmancy Mix); Love Song (Reprise)
Stranger Than Pretty is a name that says a lot about this band before you even hear them play. Claire Harding is an emotive vocalist who ventures into musical areas akin to PJ Harvey. She's not as feral and is a little more rough around some of the edges. Her voice has a good deal of raw power. The songs that stand out on this recording, though, are the ones that are at odds with that characterization - the bare, sparsely accompanied tracks that suggest that Harding could be a wonderful singer/songwriter if she chose to be. She'd be more like Liz Phair or Lois Maffeo than, say, Christine Lavin.
Rating : ***