I came to this CD having listened to neither Mia Riddle nor James Black previously, so you’ll get a very ‘face value’ dollop of opinion here. Arriving in its hippy-ish too-cool-for-school sleeve (well, the Mia side, at least), I thought that Mia Riddle was going to be a complete snooze-fest. Thankfully, opening track ‘Ship of Dreams’ is great. Its melancholy, wistful laments are sort of a more indie-folk version of Rilo Kiley. A few more songs of this calibre and you’d have a cracking little EP. ‘Homesick’ is next and it’s the complete opposite; lacking any emotional punch and I was left completely at odds attempting to engage with the lyrics. ‘Snow storm’ fares a little better but it’s still yet to get anywhere near the standard of the opening track.
I do have to give credit for the range of notes that Mia Riddle hits; under-stated, low whispers contrast with pitches beyond my pitiful non-canine ears, and both are demonstrated in ‘Thunder storm’, another decent song. ‘Treehouse’ is great in terms of the acoustic guitar – probably employed best as something in its own right here rather than as an accompaniment to the vocals. In summary this has one great song, one not bad song, and a trio of tracks which tread the (Ria) middle ground at best.
On this showing, I’m not a massive fan of James Black. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Mr Black is a rather large fan of Billy Bragg and his entire style on this CD seems to be based in his shadow rather than attempting to venture out into a corner of its own. As such, you can guess the politicised content of his lyrics, with the BNP getting a good ripping (in ‘I wonder if I’ll ever play this song in Birmingham’). I know it’s purposefully done for the ‘sharp’ twang effect, but the fact that the guitars are permanently too loud in every song is really off-putting.
To be honest, his lyrics are honest and raw – something you’d expect of someone of this ilk, but the lack of polish is evident. Nice for a quick listen, but there’s a bit of work to be done here. As a package, it’s definitely one for the indie-folk crowd. Add another star if you’re a genre fan but it’s not going to persuade the masses.
www.myspace.com/miariddle
www.myspace.com/jamesblack
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