Chris Mills: Kiss It Goodbye (Independent)
Borrowing heavily from a range of influences from REM to Elvis Costello to the Byrds, Chris Mills nonetheless comes out as an interesting figure on the
alt.country horizon. Brandishing a razor-sharp guitar and a broken heart, set against a backdrop of lo-fi country settings, fiddle, steel guitar etc, he wades through the debris of late-night bars and spent dreams, sometimes wallowing in the harshness of his emotional landscape (Tooth and Nail), other times railing against it (All You Ever Do and Brand New Day). You can catch him when he tours with those oddballs, The Handsome Family, next month.
By Joe Breen
JoDee Messina: (Curb)
Jodee Messina is following hard on the Shania trail, working hard to catch up on the kind of mega success enjoyed by Nashville's favourite floozie. This is music by numbers; there are so many different musicians and technicians involved that it must have been a nightmare to keep track of them all. But producers Bryan Gallimore and Tim McGraw know what they are seeking - music that crosses as many genres as possible and offends as few as possible. Messina has a strong voice, and track by track these songs are all right in a vacuous, so-what way, but overall this is a wearing and tacky exercise.
By Joe Breen