Aussie, Emma Dean cut her teeth with the Brisbane duo, Bittersuite, and after two eps she's now ready for logical next step of her first full-length album.
It is co-produced and co-arranged by Ben Stewart whose voice can just about be heard on all tracks without detracting from the fact that this is Emma's baby. As if to prove this point, all the tracks are written in the first person and for all the ironic, tongue in cheek touches there's obviously a feisty, individual character behind the songs.
The theatrical arrangements for strings and piano together with the self consciously quirky vocals make it hard not to make comparisons with Regina Spektor. This is especially noticeable on track likes 'Sorry' and 'Get What You Paid For'. There's also the same eccentricity about her singing style and the same sassy, independent spirit.
Her showiness is often a little too exaggerated, however, so it's the more tender songs that give the record some warmth. These show that her real strength lies more in the torch song melodrama than riotous show stoppers. 'End of the Table' in particular is a beautiful song with appealing self-deprecating lyrics ("I'm just a girl who likes to write songs"). The lush classical influences also come to the fore in the track which follows ('Dry Land').
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In stark contrast, there's the whacky vocal gymnastics and wordiness of the penultimate track which is every bit as over the top as the title suggests : 'Could This Mean If Everyone Is Alone We're Together? In The Way That We're All Together Alone?
Ultimately we're taken on a bit of roller coaster ride which is , I imagine, just what she intended. Ms Dean is obviously not one to submit to being pigeonholed in any single category.
There are elements of jazz, cabaret and pop here; enough to cater for numerous mood swings.
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