Chantal Kreviazuk
Colour Moving and Still (Columbia)
In these post-Lilith days of Apples and Osbornes, the voice is queen. Canadian chanteuse Chantal Kreviazuk (sound � it � out) chirps like the best of them on her second album for Columbia, Colour Moving and Still, nesting comfortably above the schoolyard of love. While 1997’s Under These Rocks and Stones built a solid foundation on the silken-voiced singer’s piano lessons — guitars filling in the gaps with alt.rock aplomb — Kreviazuk’s smoother sophomore effort tones its passion down with a coquettish melancholy. Smiling shyly one moment, eyes downcast and hurt the next, Kreviazuk uses her world-class coo to deliver schoolgirl love notes with sincere trust. Opener “Blue,” with its delicate cry, and the hiccuping ah-ah-ah’s of “Dear Life” and “Soul Searching” match Kreviazuk’s sharp, vulnerable vocals with the expert studio precision of producer Jay Joyce, mixer Kevin Killen, and the tag team of Rick Will & Giles Reaves (recording/engineering). “Before You,” moving from AAA acoustic to modern rock orchestral, “M” and its swaying romance/chorus (“reservations on the next trip to the moon, pack your things ’cause there ain’t no time to lose”), and market-ready “Eve” all cash in their Jewel-encrusted monied hooks and choruses like Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian taking Cyndi Lauper shopping. Girls Just Want to Be Blue.
This article appears in October 13 • 2000.
