Between the Lines, Michigan, July 2005
Namoli Brennet
The Brighter Side of Me
The first thing that struck me while listening to "The Brighter Side of Me" is that it's impossible to tell the gender of the singer. The effect is a universal voice. Namoli Brennet's singing evokes everyone from Stevie Nicks to John Mayer, at times soulful ("Maybe Tonight"), innocent ("Long Mistake"), and beautifully morose ("Sleep"). It also struck me that "Brighter Side" has been out for a year and I'd never heard it before. This wrong has now, thankfully, been righted.
Brennet, who hails from Arizona, describes her music as "gender-variant indie-pop". Though Brennet is definitely indie - she not only wrote, recorded, and produced "Brighter Side" on her own, she also played nearly all the instruments - "Brighter Side" has definite wide appeal and breakout potential. In fact, the record it made me think of most was David Gray's "White Ladder", which seemed to come out of nowhere in 2000 with the surprise success of the single "Babylon". Brennet's song "Thorn in Your Side" shares that same electronica-tinged folk-pop vibe. Other album highlights include the haunting "Ghost" and the breakup alphabet of "Long Mistake". To listen to clips and buy CDs visit www.namolibrennet.com.
- D'Anne Witkowski
