Sometimes someone doesn't seem to do much seriously wrong and still can't win you over. Summer Dancing, the second release from Canadian singer-songwriter Lenore, comes with a list of prior accomplishments in independent radio, which suggest she's won over a good many international stations with her mix of acoustic folk, electric rock, and country stylings.
Part of the time, I can see why. "My God" is a cheerful, yet thoughtful song about death, faith, and choices with a pleasant mixture of piano and guitar supporting the melody. "Nevermore," probably my favourite track, is a clever musing on her own name and Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, with a pleasant patter effect achieved by alliterative and contradictory words. Electrified country rocker "The Man" and folksy acoustic "Wastin' Time" demonstrate her skill at choosing different arrangements to best support the music.
Yet both her arrangement skills and her songwriting falter in places. The title track tends to fade into cliché, especially in the chorus: "We were lovers on the beach, and paradise was within our reach." Somehow I feel I've heard this before. Other tracks, like the cheerful rock closer, "Drivin'," fade into excessive repetition, especially in the choruses. The weakest track, "I'll Tell on You" manages to tangle both repetition and misplaced arrangement; the music, though mild and pretty, seems to be meant for another song, the lyrics drone, and the combination smothers the actual anger and strength of the concept. I could see what she was working towards and that spoiled it that much more.
Even with those weak points, I would say the album is far closer to a winner than to a loser. Alas, the worst flaw of all is front and centre. My favourite instrument in all of music is the human voice. I love all its variations, from the apparently artless to the utterly refined to the really artless yet charming. Lenore's voice is definitely artless, yet more than half the time, lacks charm. She's singing from the throat more often than from the chest, and tends to sound strained. On the title track, what should have been a sensuous delivery comes out instead as a half-shrill squeak. "Singer of the Night", too, seems to suffer -- her voice sometimes sharp, sometimes over-stretched, and only occasionally coming out in the mysterious murmur the song demands.
Fast, lower-toned songs like "The Man" prove she can have a good voice, if she stays within her best range and at a comfortable speed, but her songwriting aspires to heights her voice can't follow, making her high notes seem forced, and even mildly sustained notes wavering on and off. In the songs meant to be comedic, it doesn't seem to matter, in part because the good cheer comes through, in part because it seems the more cheerful songs are the ones mostly written within her range. But her sensual, thoughtful and affectionate songs are severely damaged; weak tracks like "I'll Tell on You" and the title track become harder to listen to. With some formal training, she could have a much finer instrument, something like a lower-toned Kate Rusby. With more awareness of her vocal limits, she could have turned her undeniable songwriting talents to produce more music within her best range. Lacking either, the album is weakened, and highlights like "My God" and "Nevermore" aren't quite enough to make up for the loss.
I can't condemn this album, there is talent here, but I can't quite recommend it, either.
