Breathe

Breathe is the debut offering from The Wilde Oscars' singer/songwriter Lesley Keye. It marks a distinctive departure from the accessible pop of The Oscars and attempts to cast Keye as a bona fide artist in his own right. The tone is subdued and serious exploring broken relationships, communication breakdowns and general malaise. The musicianship is primarily acoustic, with burst of programming, loops, harmonica and keyboards.

While there are some promising signs of sharp lyricism and some interesting arrangements, notably the opening and closing numbers, 'Breathe' and 'Sleep Easy Now', the tone is flat and uninspiring. 'Something Inside' is typical of the over-earnestness of most of the material. It's a few notches up in quality from your typical singer/songwriter, but there simply isn't enough to elevate this collection above the run of the mill average.