Bird York’s “Wicked Little High”
The CD: “Wicked Little High” (Narada)
The Performer: Bird York
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Millions of viewers were first exposed to actress/singer/songwriter Bird York when she recently performed her Oscar-nominated song “In The Deep” at the Academy Awards. The dirge-like “In The Deep” is included in this collection of songs, but it’s hardly the highlight. York is an intriguing lyricist, but the music on this CD fails to do justice to her words. The tempo rarely breaks past a slow trot, and that leads to a sameness among the songs.
Even York’s take on the Sam and Dave classic, “Hold On, I’m Coming” suffers from a low-key approach, as though she’s trying to perform it in a manner that won’t wake anyone up. She has a very pretty voice, but it’s not terribly distinctive. The CD has an overdose of “Lilith-fair” styled production, with tepid arrangements that really don’t do anything to enhance the lyrics. It’s a little too laid back.
Exceptions are “Freedom,” which is one of the more uptempo cuts, and sports a catchy chorus. “Up In Flames” mixes things up a bit, with a funkier beat and more adventurous production. “Lovely Thing,” featuring a squeezebox and sitar, shows that York can mix things up with very nice results. In addition to the unorthodox instrumentation, this song features York’s best vocal performance. These songs hint at greater things in the future, should York hook up with a more diverse production team.
“Wicked Little High” is an okay CD. It’s very laid back, lacking much musical range among the songs. This is definitely a “Sunday morning” album, not something that you’d crank up in the car on a sunny afternoon while tooling down the interstate. Still, it’s lyrically interesting enough to make me want to hear her work in a less restricted context. Fans of Suzanne Vega or Loreena McKinnett may find a lot to enjoy here.
—By Rudy Pannuci
