“st”
Kate St. John
Second Sight
Thirsty Ear / All Saints Records
Kate takes a soft piano, oboe, or sax, maybe adds a violin or French horn and lets them drive on Second Sight. In some ways it seems she is drawing from her musical pasts (as a member of Dream Academy, the Van Morrison band, and Channel Light Vessel) although very pared down. Wherever it came from, it comes out somewhere between very ambient rock or light orch pop.
Melancholy, “Dark heavens are overhead in the fading light” sets the mood for many pieces (except for the scattered polka jig) as Kate’s sweet pure lilting voice sails through the gentle arrangements without even causing a wake.
There were times when I felt a pervasive lack of edginess, passion, or urgency, but then I realized that’s what I was supposed to feel, so it was all right. “… and with the rise and fall or our unspoken dreams, she gathers us into her arms with songs and silhouettes.” Thirsty Ear Recordings, 274 Madison Ave., Suite 804, New York, NY 10016
