Apples & Oranges
Label: self-released
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Apples & Oranges
Despite the missteps in the sequencing of the first two mediocre cuts, the sugar-voiced pop that 27-year-old New York native Stacy Clark lays down really starts to get flowing on “Won’t Let You,” a violin-plucking standout, along with the sleek, radio-friendly “Recluse.” Though her folk roots peek through on “Peppermint Patties” and “Empty Bottles,” the heavy beats and bass lines that dominate the outing serve little purpose but to get in the way of an otherwise fine record. Her willowy voice, a potion of sanguine confidence and eager romanticism, is the star here – or at least it should be. Sadly, it’s rarely treated as such; Apples’ overproduction only allows Clark to glimmer through just enough to tease. However, when she does break into the open field, as on the album’s sublime whisper of a closing effort, “Strange,” you forget all about the contrived, club-glitch mess the whole thing began with.
This article appears in Dec 12-18, 2007.