|
|
||
ReviewsThe Wreckers can't light up the 9:30 Club Date published: 4/14/2005
YOUTH CORRESPONDENT Michelle Branch has a blond-haired twin in the music industry. Her name is Jessica Harp. Since Branch's platinum days of "The Spirit Room" and "Hotel Paper," she's taken some time off, gotten married (andpregnant) and teamed up with Harp to form the musically gifted entourage The Wreckers. Now she's back on the road with her new group, headlining the One Tree Hill Tour--which recently made a stop at the sold-out 9:30 Club. Getting over Branch's pregnancy took a few songs. Her belly that screamed "I'm five months along, baby!" initially overshadowed the music in a silencing fashion. But the music eventually prevailed. The Wreckers, which releases its first album this summer, reflected Branch's poppy guitar sound and added a little country twang to the stew. "The Good Kind" (the group's first single) was soothing, filled with pristine girly harmonies and satisfying acoustic guitar swooning. The remainder of the set reflected the single--not going off into challenging tangents, but sticking to an acoustic medium that lightly goosebumped the skin. Between new Wreckers songs like "My Oh My" and "Cigarettes," Branch threw in some solo, acoustic classics. "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye to You" earned the strongest sing-along responses, lifting an audience that was once confused by new material out of its dead state. There is some definite quality in The Wreckers' art; however, it sounds like Michelle Branch with an echoing device. While this is definitely a positive, the group still lacks that spark that brought Branch to where she is now. Without the spark, there is no fire. And without that fire, The Wreckers can't set the world ablaze. JESSE SCOTT is a student at George Mason University.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
|
|
||||||||||||
