#1382 Goldenhorse - Riverhead

A slow-growing smash in New Zealand, hitting #1 a couple years after its release - this is far too pop, far too blankly pretty for my tastes. The real problem is Kirsten Morrell's inflected little voice, full of twangy angst worthy of Lisa Loeb, keening over very songwritterey little songs. Funky the way Dave Mathews Band is funky. There's highlights here and there, the title track has a great chorus swell and rolling menace in its analog organs, but getting there's a journey though Candyland 2.5/5