Beth Thornley - Beth Thornley

All Music Guide

Sounding a bit like Sarah McLachlin and Sheryl Crow with just enough Liz Phair and Julianna Hatfield (“Lucky You") to make things interesting, Beth Thornley alternately coos, whispers and belts out oblique lyrics over a poppy, 60sinfluenced wall of sound on her selftitled debut. The music on tracks like the dynamic and retrofuturistic opener “I Will Lie" could be Air doing indie rock analog synthesizer gurgles and whistles abound but for the most part, Thornley tackles straightforward singer/songwriter rock with a slight, contemporary psycherock sheen. Thornley's songwriting doesn't yet have the absolute pop brilliance of someone like Aimee Mann (the shuffling, pianodriven “Arrogance" sounds particularly Mann inspired and “Don't Save Me" could have been written after a Paul Thomas Anderson movie binge), but her tunes are propulsive and catchy and don't shy away from layers of fuzzy guitars and odd instrumentation. This record is likely to go largely unnoticed there simply aren't any... hooks as indelible as on a Sheryl Crow single but it's an accomplished and eclectic release that proves Beth Thornley to be worthy of serious attention. - Charles Spano, All Music Guide Read more Less