After hearing Michelle Branch’s song “Everywhere” on the radio and finding it incredibly sexy, I had to pick up her debut release, “The Spirit Room.” It’s an 11-track pop-rock album that has something for everyone — your 6-year-old brother and grandmother can both find a song to enjoy. However, the radio-friendly songs aren’t really breaking any new musical ground.
We’ve all heard this style of songs before, but this time the music has a new voice. The 18-year-old Branch sings with a decidedly unique inflection on her well-enunciated words. This inflection gives the song some attitude. The music behind the vocal delivery is a blend of instruments that have nothing in particular that stands out.
There are a few exceptions. “Everywhere” and “All You Want” place more emphasis on the guitar, creating a rock feel. These two songs are certainly the best of “The Spirit Room” and are what give her music a different sound than her pop counterparts.
Rather than being a fluffy Britney Spears-ish singer-dancer, Branch is a singer-songwriter, giving her songs depth and credibility. The content of Branch’s music could easily double as songs about relationships or spirituality, but the album is not as deep as its title would imply.
The most engaging songs are at the beginning of the record. If you’ve heard “Everywhere” and “All You Want” on the radio, then you’ve heard the best. You shouldn’t expect to find some hidden jewel deep within the album, but you certainly shouldn’t dismiss the rest as album-filling garbage.
Still the other songs aren’t as nicely polished as the first two mild rock tunes. Her songs start to have a sound more characteristic of pop, a word that is dangerous in these days of manufactured boybands and teenyboppers who have nothing to say with their music. These pop-sounding tracks strip her of her identity, which is a shame because she is a very promising performer. Hopefully she will go the way of Jewel instead of Britney Spears.
If you’ve fallen in love with the two songs on the radio, then you will probably enjoy the album. If “Everywhere” just mildly attracts your attention, buy the single. Is the album worth the 15 bucks I paid for it? No, but perhaps $9.99.
— Review by Brian Bushway, based on five stars.
April 04, 2002
