People have been writing songs and verse about the weather for as long as there have been people. The correspondence between the fury of one's outer environment and the emotions inside an artist's head can inspire amazing lyrics, but veteran Ontario roots songwriter Lynn Jackson's latest album never goes even that deep. Instead of the rich meteorological metaphors promised by the album's title, Jackson's written a whole song cycle of "It's raining, and I am sad."
Otherwise, Songs… sounds very nice. The spare acoustic arrangements and minimalist but echoing production (by Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake) give the album a cozy-cottage-in-winter atmosphere, and Jackson knows just how to use her distinctive, throaty voice to its best effect, but altogether, though the title promises stormy weather, this is an awfully placid landscape.
(Busted Flat)Otherwise, Songs… sounds very nice. The spare acoustic arrangements and minimalist but echoing production (by Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake) give the album a cozy-cottage-in-winter atmosphere, and Jackson knows just how to use her distinctive, throaty voice to its best effect, but altogether, though the title promises stormy weather, this is an awfully placid landscape.