Abra Moore's third album, Everything Changed, is unabashedly radio-ready. The production is incredibly slick. And the lyrics are all straightforward accounts of love and love lost. In other words, it embodies just about everything that is annoying and aggravating about pop music.
Only, it's good. Really good. Against all odds, Abra Moore has crafted a shiny pop disc that could sit quite comfortably at the pinnacle of the Top 40 airwaves, but is also artful and deeply affecting.
Now it's time to turn on your imagination. Think back to the last album Sixpence None the Richer made before disbanding, Divine Discontent. This album is just as slick and pristine as that one, but, unlike Sixpence's record, Abra Moore's disc manages to avoid sounding overpolished or overproduced.
Next, toss in a few Sgt. Pepper-esque horns, a couple of naked piano ballads, and one of the most heartbreakingly sweet voices you'll ever hear. Now you're starting to get a feel for what Everything Changed sounds like. It's melodic without being hyperdramatic; it's irresistibly catchy without being annoying; it's symphonic and dense without being too heavily produced; quite frankly, it's a nearly flawless pop recording.
Oh, and did I mention that Abra Moore's lyrics will absolutely rip your heart out? These songs plumb the darkest depths of human heartbreak, letting some light and hope drift in just frequently enough to keep the emotional aching from becoming overwhelming.
"I Do" opens with the gentle singing of horns and piano. Moore sings of a longing that we can all relate to: "Will you ever find that happy that you're after?/ That tender taste, that suckle on the vine?/ Spend all of your days chasing down the answer/ to the question that we know you'll never find." The sense of melancholy and yearning is almost tangible. But life is not just one big lost cause; Moore then shifts her focus to affirming the hope and strength that comes from love and friendship: "Who could ever love you now?/ Well I do."
"Big Sky" is a song so euphorically giddy and relentlessly catchy that it could easily become the feel-good pop song of the year. Moore describes a love so wonderful, so long-lasting, that, out of context, this song might be truly irritating. "It's all forever!" she squeals like a smitten schoolgirl.
And then... it's gone. The album dips into a darkness so painful that it will likely move some listeners to tears. "If You Want Me To" is a spirited symphony for strings and a banjo; the lyrics are not nearly so joyful. "If you want me to/ I'll just pretend that it didn't mean a thing to me/ But deep inside my room/ I'll hold back the tears that I'll never let you see/ 'Cause I followed you/ just the way that you wanted me to/ And you reached out your hand and took hold/ And you let go." This is raw, needy stuff, and, like the Psalms of David, it can be strangely comforting to those who are walking through similarly dark valleys.
In "Taking Chances," a gorgeous, mesmerizing acoustic ballad, Moore pledges to step out on faith and take risks, not because she has no fear, but in spite of her fear. "I'm not sure if I really want to/ I'm not sure what it all means," she sings with a question in her voice, as if she's wondering whether her audience can even relate. Trust me, Abra... we can.
And perhaps that's what makes this recording so special. We can all relate to these shadows, and also to the light that Moore finds in the darkest places of human emotion. And she sets all of this introspection to singable, memorable, darn-near-perfect pop. So music snobs and radio execs alike, sit up and take notice; this is an album I heartily recommend to anyone who knows what it's like to be brokenhearted.
Similar sounding releases
1997Rebecca St. JamesChristmas
1999Chasing FuriesWith Abandon
2000Brenda WeilerFly Me Back
2004MarillionMarbles
2002LaRueReaching
2002Aimee MannLost in Space
