Hazel Lord
Venus in the Street
Eden Roc

Hazel Lord's debut shows a talented group with a melodic sound. Guitarist and songwriter Anthony Biale clearly has a gift for creating memorable songs.

"Necessary Illusions" is a track that puts vocalist Petina Cole's sweet voice to good use, singing cynical words of love as an illusion.

"Wild Things Run Free" is a brilliant song that features Susan Mitchell's evocative violin playing. "Driving to Creedmore" is a sad song that still sounds carefree. Cole sings of feeling like Lady Day (Billie Holiday's nickname), but she still sounds pretty happy. "Karmic Debt" has surreal lyrics set to an earthy backing.

On "Wounded Orbit" and "Dada Data" the band go pretty weird on us. On the former Biale starts rapping like a madman, while the latter features an opera inspired choir. It's a very inspired way to round off an intriguing debut.

Copyright © 2003 Anna Maria Stjärnell