CANADIAN MUSIC
Artist: Allison Crowe
Album: Spiral, 2010-05-16
Review by Amanda Davis, The
Mind's Eye
May 2010
Holding Spiral in your hands is to hold a piece of art; from the music inside to the striking black cover with its luminescent paintings of peacock feathers, and butterfly ladies or angels with fantastic wings, and embossed with silver, and gold. This is not an assembly line hit album like so many releases today, but a product of Crowe’s talent and dedication to her craft, which has taken her from Nanaimo to Newfoundland to Europe and back.
Though still only in her 20’s, Spiral is Crowe’s seventh album, though she has also been featured on other compilation records. Her time has paid off: this album is mature, yet radiates all of her unique passion and wide vocal ability. If you’ve seen her live shows, you’ve seen how Crowe captures an
audience with her emotional delivery and power, both in her voice and piano playing. Spiral communicates these qualities without going too far with effects and other instruments. The result is the real Allison Crowe. If you want fast proof, listen to “Wake Up”, which is performed live.
The music on Spiral is diverse, from soul-searching ballads like “Oceans” and the title track to upbeat folk/country inspired tracks like “Dearly” and “Double-Edged Swords”.
Crowe’s song writing is as honest as her song, with tales of love, love-lost, confusion with life’s questions, and her life as a travelling musician.
While her intense style may not to appeal to all immediately, Crowe is one of Canada’s incredible talents, and like anything fine, Spiral deserves to be played, savoured, and appreciated.
Log on to her website at www.allisoncrowe.com to listen to tracks and purchase Spiral.