28 September 2006

Innocence Mission

Damn. I've had Innocence Mission's lullabye CD Now the Day Is Over on my list forever; I was really thinking I was going to like it, but I don't. Karen Peris has all the twee cuteness of Joanna Newsom or Björk, without any of the former's technical creativity (pronounced craziness in her case) or the latter's unique vocal power. The instrumentals are hard to notice.

Why would you listen to this--unless you're a hipster parent desperate for non-Barney kiddie music? They're sweet, I guess, but they're not particularly good. There are some that aren't bad--Wonderful World and Moon River stand out--but they're still not something anybody not specifically in search of lullabyes needs. It's a pity, because the songs are a well-chosen mix of familiar acoustic songs, old hymns (which might have made very stately lullabyes), and the like, but the annoying vocal manner overcomes any credit the smart song choices might have gotten.

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2 comments:

GregR said...

"Now the Day is Over" is not a regular Innocence Mission release. It's a CD of kids songs, presumably, directed towards kids -- but being something more pleasant for the parents too. It's certainly not up to par with their other releases. Try checking out "Befriended" or "Birds of my Neighborhood". They're excellent.

I can see why you'd come up with the Björk/Newsom comparisons. Especially Joanna Newsom. Some of Joanna's phrasing is incredible like that of Karen Peris'. I'd almost bet that Joanna Newsom had listened to some Innocence Mission.

GregR said...

Ok, not kids songs neccessarily, but at least, "songs for kids"...