Quite possibly the only singer songwriter of note ever to have emerged from Bermuda, Heather Nova has successfully outlived her initial association with the Lilith Fair collective and her status as the quintessential Dawson’s Creek soundtrack artist. Not one to shy away from collaborations - in the past she has worked with everyone from Killing Joke’s Youth to ex-Suede man Bernard Butler, here she links up with Mercury Rev, who provide a suitably atmospheric backdrop to her latest collection of songs.
The first thing to say about Storm is that it’s beautifully recorded and produced and sounds absolutely gorgeous sonically. With Mercury Rev’s aural majesty and other-worldly textures providing an impressive settling for Nova’s reverb-drenched vocals, it all comes down to the quality of the songs which, unfortunately, don’t always match up to the album’s initial promise.
Although the dazzling opening one-two of ‘Let’s Not Talk About Love’ and ‘You Left Me A Song’ indicate that the listener is in for a treat, Storm swiftly unravels in a haze of watered-down psychedelia and woolly lyricism.
Elsewhere, the title track is a so-so folk-by-numbers song (though it does admittedly showcase Nova’s stunning voice to winning effect), while things pick up tempo-wise on ‘I Wanna Be Your Light’ which has an almost U2-like feel to the rhythms and textures. The final track, ‘Fool For You’ is probably the overall highlight with a memorable melody, soaring, reach-for-the-skies chorus and heavenly harmonies.
As the Dunph might say, a good album but not a great one.