Getting a fix on Jonatha Brooke's music has never been easy, and her 2001 effort further complicates the task. As a solo artist, Brooke has teased fans with genre-gobbling pastiche (10 Cent Wings) and austere acoustics (Live), as if she were still searching for her voice in the Story's aftermath. On Steady Pull she may not find it, but you can hear her zeroing in. Working with legendary producer Bob Clearmountain (Pretenders and Bryan Adams) Brooke emphasizes her strengths--mercurial but memorable melodies, complex but flowing rhythms--through a variety of settings: polished contemporary R&B, alternative guitar rock, orchestral pop, as well as some trademark acoustic folk. If the musical shifts occasionally verge on distraction, Brooke's compressed, confessional songwriting and sincere, tart delivery mostly remain in focus. --Roy Kasten
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2 months ago
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