Ellen Reid

Ellen Reid is going to spend her entire musical career with the phrase ”formerly of the Crash Test Dummies” preceding her name. But that’s fine; it will probably help to open doors that might otherwise be closed to an artist issuing her first album, and it will also garner nods of recognition from members of the public. Yet it is going to also be a curse; without the undeniably distinctive voice of Brad Roberts, Reid sounds a lot more ordinary and you could listen to all 11 songs on Cinderellen without even working out the CTD connection. Then again, maybe that was her whole idea all along. Most of the relationships detailed in the lyrics could be described as dysfunctional; be it Pinocchio’s lacking anatomy or nailing vital organs to the wall, the underlying darkness makes for the most interesting and memorable tracks. Yet musically things are rather conventional, and that is where the album’s weakness lies. Reid obvious confidence does help to keep you listening to just one more song, but I can’t help but think that she’s never going to outgrow "formerly of the Crash Test Dummies.”