Rating: ***
Heather Gruber is chasing her dreams. The Los Angeles-based artist is hell-bent on making it in Hollywood in spite of the darkness and competition that associates itself with this city like a second skin.
She's releasing a new album on November 30th called "Dance Into the Desert" and has been subsequently releasing a single a week since October 5th. That's one way to drip the music out there to the public!
She's compared to Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michaelson, two artists that I absolutely adore. That makes me excited to peel off the packaging and throw this thing into my car's CD player right now. I'm kidding. This was all digital and I barely own a car.
Let's get to it!
The Ingrid Michaelson comparison seems spot on. Very similar vibe. The first few tracks are likable pop numbers. They're pleasant, but there isn't really anything to distinguish them from one another. She's got a good voice and the melody lines are good, but it's not revolutionary or anything. "Lost in Space" stands out as a Sara Barielles-tinged pop tune. Probably my favorite track thus far. I could see this getting some radio airplay in certain markets. Most of the album runs together and like I said earlier, I'm not sure most of these tracks are that different from each other. None of them are bad, in fact most of them are quite good. It just lacks a diversity of sound. "Perfect Day" is fun and lovely. It's not a Lou Reed cover. "Let if Fly" mixes things up a bit. It's well-sung and catchy in a darker way than most of the other tracks. I really like this one. The LP ends with "Running on Empty" which really shows off Gruber's vocal range. A pleasant end to a pleasant record.
This is a good record that the 00's pop-singer with a ukelele crowd will really enjoy. There's literally not a bad song on the album. That said, there aren't too many that stand out as excellent either. It's just good and that's okay.