Juliet Lloyd: All Dressed Up

Juliet came as a surprise for myself and for Sean. The same night we went to see Candice Jarrett, we discovered this new talent, Juliet Lloyd, was the night's opener. She put on a good show, even pulling off a Zep cover that evening.

The album, All Dressed Up, showcases her talents as well as her weak spots, but, in the right hands, these can be ironed out.

Dressed suffers from something I consider to be consistent in smaller musicians: over-zealous production. It's too clean. The vocals too clear. On almost every song, Lloyd's voice, while beautiful, completely overwhelms the instruments, and I find that to be a bug, not a feature. It should all work together. That being said, the album is a solid effort, if for no other reason than to get her name out there.

Ever After leads of the album with a jazzy-bluesy kinda tune about, you guessed it, love. Right after, we get a tune, Left Behind, that has a feel to it that gives me, anyway, an image of someone(s) at the end of a movie, perhaps romantic comedy, perhaps drama, driving down a highway, the camera panning out and you see them rolling on a long road. Sometimes I get great visuals with songs. Lullaby manages to be the tune that really gets the simplicity and cleanliness of the audio right, with Juliet and her piano being all that's required. Sun Burned Sky intrigues me, if for no other reason than the lounge/latin beat.

In the end: The album's lyrical and vocal content are great, but I feel the production leaves something to be desired. Maybe it's just that jazzy stuff doesn't really deserved to be recorded, just performed live. Maybe the producer was young. Or, maybe it was an anomaly. It's a solid disc, still, and deserves some attention, if only for young Lloyd.

On the Web: Photos from a Juliet Lloyd performan at the Paradise. Also, you can hear her music on her myspace page at myspace.com/julietlloyd.

Technorati Tagged: Juliet Lloyd | Jazz | Boston Music | Small Artists