Lisa Mitchell - Wonder

Rating

: * * *

Verdict

:

Playful potential soon becomes a stagnant sophomore record.

As the tinkering xylophone and breathy sing-song of

Neopolitan Dreams

comes across your stereo, you wouldn't be the first to mistake Australian Lisa Mitchell for folk pop princess Kimya Dawson. But as Mitchell's sophomore album continues, it veers away from playful melodies and into the realm of insipid, folksy waffle.

Without the vivid pictures and quirky lyrics of Dawson and other folk-pop heroes, the former Australian Idol contestant fails to grab listeners' attention - and ends up singing dreary love songs.

Likewise, her soft and simpering vocals often sound less than deliberate. More like she's lost interest in her own music and can't be bothered singing properly.

Folk-pop is infamous for embracing quirky voices and sounds that don't work in other genres - think Dawson, Regina Spektor and Yael Naim. Mitchell may have mastered her hushed, higher register but a distinct lack of dynamics mean her songs go nowhere.

It might not have been so noticeable had Mitchell kept

Wonder

to a tight 10-track offering. But as the 15 tracks creep towards the hour-mark, the slow simpering really takes its toll. The up-tempo bop of

Oh! Hark!

and jaunty piano trills of

Sidekick

offer some reprieve, but are ultimately as effective as offering half a Berocca to a narcoleptic.

It might not be bad but too many other people do it better.

Joanna Hunkin