For Michelle Branch, 2003 wasn’t
one of her greatest years. Starting off on a high with the brilliant “Hotel
Paper” and the smash hit single “Are You Happy Now?” Branch’s stardom looked to
explode after “The Spirit Room” put her on radios everywhere and made her a pop
star in her own right. Instead, a risqué Maxim photo shoot turned off fans who
previously knew her as the starlet who didn’t need sex to sell records (even
though no promotional material for her albums featured sexual material) and
while “Hotel Paper” managed to hit platinum status, her time in the spotlight
was fading, save for “I’m Feeling You” with Carlos Santana.
So enter long-time friend
Jessica Harp and a new “side project” in “The Wreckers”, a country duo
featuring herself and Harp, and, if “Stand Still, Look Pretty” is any
indication, it’s proof that Branch hasn’t missed a step in her three-year
absence and can transfer well to the country charts. There’s “Leave The Pieces”,
the catchy and personal first single, the descriptive and reflective
“Tennessee”, and the effects-laden reworking of “The Good Kind”, where Branch
adds her vocals. However, it’s not all Branch here- Harp does admirably for
herself in “Cigarettes”, a personal song about heartache and a habit that
soothes her loneliness.
The best song here, though, is
“Rain”, sung and written exclusively by Branch. Although it’s more of a
rock-oriented song, it’s also Branch’s most personal songs to date, since, as
she sings, you get feeling she’s crying and frustrated. She also manages to
roll her first recorded swear word- in the last line, “’Cause I don’t think I
can take this s***”- which may unsettle some, but in this context it’s not
forced at all. It is indicative of an album that is more descriptive and mature
than Branch’s previous work, and shows her real growth as a musician, a singer
and as a songwriter.
Yeah, this album may need a few
spins to really register, but once they do, it registers like no other. Country
needed a winner, and it’s fitting Branch- who produced pop winners- provides
them one. The Wreckers are destined for a long career, and what a fun one that
will be.
-DG