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The Wreckers Album: “Stand Still, Look Pretty”
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Stand Still, Look Pretty |
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Release Date:2005-06-10
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Type:Unknown
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Genre:Country
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Label:Maverick
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Explicit Lyrics:No
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UPC:093624898061
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Review - :
Sometime between the release of her second album {^Hotel Paper} in 2003 and the birth of her first child in 2005, {$Michelle Branch} decided that she was tired of following the {\adult alternative} career path that she'd been pursuing since her 2001 debut {^Spirit Room}. She made no bones about her frustration, memorably posting on her website in late 2005 that she was "tired of sucking ***** to get my music heard" in the course of an inspired rant in which she vented her frustration at the music biz and everything that surrounded it. It was a ballsy move, but it did accomplish its desired effect of loosening the log-jam that stalled her career, particularly her plans to release a duet album with her friend and collaborator {$Jessica Harp} under the name {$the Wreckers}. {$Branch} received resistance from her label, not just because she wanted to trade in her solo career for life in a group, but because {$the Wreckers} were a {\country} duo, and the shift in sound was as risky as the decision to be part of a band. At least it must have seemed that way on paper, but in practice, the duo's debut {^Stand Still, Look Pretty} doesn't seem like a radical departure from {$Branch}'s solo albums. Sure, there are fiddles, acoustic guitars, and twangy Telecasters instead of layers of synths, but the album is pitched halfway between {$Sheryl Crow} and {$the Dixie Chicks}, spiked with enough mainstream {\country-pop} sheen to have it fit comfortably next to {$Miranda Lambert} on the airwaves, but not enough to change the overall feeling that this record is a rootsy AAA record at its heart -- not far from {$Crow} and {$the Dixie Chicks}. It's a subtle change from {$Branch}'s previous work, but it does pay off significant dividends in a number of ways. First off all, {$Branch} sounds at ease as part of a duo, and this truly is an equal partnership; in fact, {$Harp} bears more songwriting credits than {$Branch} does here, including two cuts that are hers alone ({&"Tennessee"} and {&"Cigarettes"}). Second, the clean-but-natural production is better suited to {$Branch}'s strengths than the stilted glossy sound of {^Hotel Paper}, letting her songs stand on their own merits. And if she sounded a little tentative and fuzzy on her sophomore solo effort, she sounds focused here, thanks in large part to working with {$Harp}, who helps draw out the earnest likeability that made {^Spirit Room} appealing. It also helps that {$the Wreckers}, in true {\country} fashion, also cut a few professionally written tunes, such as the glittering opening cut {&"Leave the Pieces,"} that help keep this cohesive and entertaining. Not that there isn't a stumble or two along the way -- the anti-fame ruminations of the title track is too navel-gazing for {\country} both in its topic and its moody dirge -- but the great majority of {^Stand Still, Look Pretty} is tuneful, tastefully rootsy, and quite engaging {\country-pop}. Based on this enjoyable album, if {$Branch} decides to ditch her solo career to devote herself full-time to {$the Wreckers}, it'd be a smart decision. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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