Odi came on initially as a coy and charmingly unaffected indie folkster, with a silky voice and the delectable song, ‘A Superman’. On this, her debut album, that leftfield quality is swamped by overly glossy arrangements.
But whenever her voice breaks free, it’s truly superb, as on the fetchingly catchy ‘Something Beautiful’; it’s equally impressive on the jaunty ‘I’m Done’. ‘One In A Million’ has an affecting worksong feel to it. ‘Mariposa’ is one of the few tracks that truly captures her live brilliance and suggests the influence of Joan Armatrading.
There was a time when an Irish album of this type would have lifted our spirits. The problem is that it sounds relatively predictable by modern standards. There is a touch of lost opportunity about it.