26 July 2009
Sunday Mercury
Daniel Smith

Originally touted as a jazz crossover act, Herbert's fourth album has more in common with Janis Ian and Fiona Apple than Nina Simone and Billie Holliday.
A quirky set of songs is inhabited by a cast of characters worthy of the Ray Davies songbook, many of them women with a dim view of the men in their lives.
It's delightfully diverse and unpredictable, with no two tracks sounding the same, and witty one-liners aplenty.
Opener So Worn out is punctuated by sci-fi beeps and swishes; Lorelei is based on the most basic of bare beats, and Jane Into A Beauty Queen is sharp staccato but with a richly melodic diversion.
The angry Put Your Mouth Where Your Money Is contrasts a warm vocal with cold disdain; Annie's Yellow Bag has hints of Joni Mitchell, and My Mini And Me starts with delta blues slide guitar.
Throughout, pianist Steve Holness, bassist Sam Burgess, percussionist Dave Price and guitarist Al Cherry offer understated, pin-sharp backing.
And just when you think she's wandered back into the jazz lounge in Some Days I Forget, Herbert delivers a scarily raw cover of Bowie's Rock'n'Roll Suicide.