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Been Around
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Been Around
Current price: $33.99
Barnes and Noble
Been Around
Current price: $33.99
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Though she turned up on some limited compilations, in music placements on television, and in rare print interviews in the meantime,
represents the first album in 16 years from
, the retro-pop project of
. Following closely on the heels of a 2018 collaboration with the like-minded
under the name
, it's just her second solo album. Recorded in Nashville, New York, and her base of London with
of
(he also co-produced
'
),
features guests such as
and
, underscoring the Baroque pop devotee's popularity among a certain breed of songwriters. (Around the time of her 2004 debut,
was invited to open shows for the likes of
,
, and
.) Together, they and other collaborators construct an affectionately nostalgic group of arrangements for her already '60s-styled song blueprints, with the orchestral title track setting the stage. Electric piano and crisp vocal harmonies open the song before
enters with a wistful,
-evoking melody and lyrics that refer to fair-weather friends and dried tears. Bright brass, atmospheric strings, and a harmonica solo eventually embolden its key-shifting confessions. Later, the cinematic ballad "Finest Actor" namechecks some of Hollywood's biggest legends alongside instrumentation that includes harpsichord, or a good facsimile. Far from mere '60s pastiche, the album also offers entries like "Jody," which suggests the sophisti-pop of
, and "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart" recalls '80s
, and not only due to
's oft-noted vocal resemblance to
. Full of well-crafted potential highlights,
stops just short of sounding overly labored, instead striking a plush, melancholy chord that glides between sparer and more exuberant tracks, such as the stirring "Charity Shop Window." It's fair to say that
out-performs her excellent debut, both in terms of composition and execution, making it a release well worth the wait. ~ Marcy Donelson