Review:'SPENCER, HEIDI & THE RARE BIRDS' 'Under Streetlight Glow'
- Label: 'Bella Union Records'
- Genre: 'Folk'
- Release Date: '29th March 2011'
Our Rating:
Being told that Milwaukee's Heidi Spencer was a "wayward traveller" who regularly slept in cars and lived a hand to mouth existence is clearly the kind of information designed to prove her 'authentic troubadour' credentials.
For these songs to resonate with listeners they have to have a 'there but for the grace of God go I' quality.
The "Here I am by my lonesome" sadness of the title track is a running theme that ranges from the factual -"I am just sad"( Tried And True) - to the self consciously brooding and fatalistic: "Let it rain let it pour give me something to ignore"(Hibernation) "I want the wind to carry me off" (Carry Me Softly)".
Under Streetlight Glow is Heidi's third record and her first for esteemed Bella Union label. In comparison to her first two albums, she describes it marking a 'progression' from sad to moody.
The production are very basic, almost like a series of demos. I imagine this is intended to re-create a live sound although it often just sounds a bit sloppy.
Adjectives I noted down while listening include: brooding , languid, listless, plaintive, fragile and husky.
Impressive as this album is, it lacks a real sense of perspective on the hard experiences it documents.
Heidi Spencer sounds genuine but these are essentially songs of adolescent angst without any filter. While tales of darkness and suffering are usually more powerful than songs of sweetness and light, they also demand a context, something which I feel is lacking here.
Reservations aside, this is an album with 'breakthrough release' written all over it and the video for the standout song Alibi is just great.
