Missy Higgins--On A Clear Night--CD review

Missy Higgins strength rests on her broad appeal.  I was drawn to her simplicity, her take on life from a Generation Y viewpoint and an Aussie no less.  My teen aged daughter liked her style and groove.  The more I listen to her latest album, On A Clear Night, the more I like it. 

There's not a lot of clutter on her disc; the songs work around the lyrics. Higgins' voice, though young, can carry the emotions of love anew and love lost, of bitterness (Peachy) and hope (Going North).   

It's a listener's album.  I didn't ever feel that I wanted to jump up and dance, but I definitely felt the urge to sink into the words and the tunes and soak up the music.  Not surprisingly, 100 Round the Bends, Higgins' second track, often went into repeat mode on my CD player. It also didn't hurt to crank up the volume.   

Most of the eleven songs on this CD, produced by Reprise Records, feature voice and guitar.  Higgins says on her website that this came about because much of the songwriting occurred while she was on the road touring.  "[T]hose songs were written on guitar, which is the only instrument I've got with me in the hotel room or on the bus," says Higgins on her homepage.  She also includes several instrumentalists who add subtle detail that repetitive playing reveals.  I especially like Cathy LaMothe on horn in three of the numbers.

This is an album I'd buy for a teenage girl who listens to musicians like Lily Allen, Robin Thicke, Anne Heaton, and Fiona Apple.  But I'm glad I'm the owner of this CD because I like to pop it into my car's CD player without asking.

Those of us in the United States will have a chance to see her in concert this year (2009).  She'll be here in Minnesota on March 15th.  Check her website for tour information. 

On A Clear Night
(tracks)

1. Where I Stood
2. 100 Round the Bends
3. Steer
4. Sugarcane
5. Secret
6. Warm Whispers
7. The Wrong Girl
8. Angela
9. Peachy
10. Going North
11. Forgive Me