Review Summary: A brief, yet compelling offering, and easily Kreviazuk's best.
When I first listened to Chantal Kreviazuk's 2006 solo effort, Ghost Stories, I wasn't expecting much. Sure one of the singles, All I Can Do, was fairly decent. Yet at the same time it didn't reach out and capture my interest the same way that some of Kreviazuk's contemporaries have. Of course, All I can Do ended up being one of the stronger songs off an album that was respectable, yet felt like was missing something. Perhaps Kreviazuk was just trying to break away from her adult-alternative roots, having taken off four years from her last solo album to write music for more popular pop artists, or maybe she just hit some sort of writer's block. Because judging by her sophomore effort, Colour Moving and Still, it's quite clear Chantal Kreviazuk is quite the talented writer and musician.
One of the factors which somewhat hurt Ghost Stories was its inability to keep the listener interested over its full runtime. Colour Moving and Still lacks this drawback. Though somewhat brief, at only forty-one minutes, the LP is extremely captivating. Kreviazuk makes use of a variety of musical arrangements, generally revolving around her singing, which draws comparisons to the likes of fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan and at times Dolores O'Riordan (early Cranberries Dolores, that is), making for a lush, enjoyable listen. The tempos of Colour Moving and Still fluctuate between upbeat, cheerful pop-rockers such as Dear Life and Before You, sombre ballads like Until We Die and Eve, as well and dreamy, uplifting offerings like Soul Searching and Souls, a track which showcases Kreviazuk's talents as a singer, songwriter, and pianist, and arguably the strongest song the album.
Free-flowing and organic, Chantal Kreviazuk's sophomore effort is a compelling album, and easily the singer-songwriter's best. Though Chantal doesn't really experiment throughout the album, as most of Colour Moving and Still is put together using Kreviazuk's impeccable singing, catchy song writing (generally climaxing with a soaring chorus), simple, yet effective piano-work, and some light acoustic guitar every now and then (album opener, Blue immediately comes to mind). Both fans and casual listeners of the adult-alternative pop anthems of the 90's (think Sarah McLachlan or perhaps Alanis Morrissette) should give Colour Moving and Still a shot, as it's a rather infectious LP, both commercially and artistically. Too bad Ghost Stories couldn't replicate its successes, but there's always next time, I guess.
