She might be a metal chick at heart, and is more often than not to be seen fronting a rock band, trading riffs and licks like she was born to it – but there is another side to young north Dubliner Leanne Harte, as this live solo outing reveals. Recorded before an intimate crowd in the appropriately named Café de la Dance in Paris in 2006, this stripped-down all-acoustic affair showcases what is arguably Harte’s strongest point – her crystal-clear voice that is at times reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick.
That said, things take a while to lift off: the opener ‘Maybe’ has an extended, somewhat repetitive intro that would have benefited from a little trimming. But when she finally starts to sing, it’s clear she’s in total control. Many of the songs will be familiar from Harte’s self-titled debut, including the epic tale that is ‘Mr Fortune’, and rockers such as ‘Pretty Good Year’ and ‘Unspoken Thoughts’. She’s more than adept on acoustic guitar, her rhythmic chops never missing a beat – but the weak link here are the songs, which tend to slip into clichés.
Attention begins to sag towards the end – the melodic blandness of numbers like ‘Losing Touch’ and ‘Something Else’ diluting the initial impact. Harte has oodles of potential and looks great to boot but you can’t help thinking she’d be better off moving away from the narrow confines of traditional rock towards something that might challenge her vocal and instrumental talents. Still, this