No Power Steering

Album Review

Laurie Geltman is one of the many female artists to arrive in the late '90s with a sound that is equal parts Shawn Colvin and John Mellencamp. During this boom in female heartland rock/folk, Geltman was lost in the shuffle, and one can see why she did not make it at this point. Some tracks, like the soulful "Payoff" or the lush "Growing Down," showcase her best strengths: her wonderful voice and the incredible chemistry of her backing band. Violins, organs, guitars — they all blend effortlessly to make a beautiful background for her rich vocals. But then other songs, such as "Red, Green, Black & Blue," are competently played but are devoid of the lyrical strength that is needed to make this album unique. With so many artists cultivating the same sound, Geltman needs to make herself unique through what she has to say. But the lyrics on many of her songs do not seem to be about anything important, which makes it easy to forget about a song after listening to it. Geltman has a beautiful voice and a sound that can be absolutely awesome when done right; she just does not find her niche lyrically on this, her debut album.