Corny piano and trumpet arrangements abound in the second solo album by Sarah Shannon, former lead singer of ‘90s noise popsters Velocity Girl. Her delightful voice, an instrument that can be dainty as a bell or strong as brass, made Velocity Girl unique in comparison to the standard guitar-driven pop of their day.
Unfortunately, Shannon’s memorable soprano becomes run of the mill when applied to the shallow, jazzy tunes on City Morning Song (Minty Fresh). She still carefully crescendos into the slightest vibrato, not so much to amaze as to content the listener, but now with accompaniment that sounds like a score to a musical.
At her more theatrical, Shannon seems to be taking stylistic cues from Rufus Wainwright, singing like a scene-setting narrator in an opening act. She also sings about angels watching over us (“Watch Over You”), and, in another tune (“Salton Sea”), croons, “I want to start out each day with a kiss / will you marry me?”
Clearly, this album is not for the jaded among us. With this foray into tame lounge-pop, listeners shouldn’t expect depth, or something that hasn’t been done, albeit prettily, before.
– Kristin Grayewski
Sarah Shannon (Minty Fresh)