Finish Starting

Kildare-born Dunne has worked with the late Billy Brown of the legendary Freshmen, and won the Dun Laoghaire song contest in 1999 with her own composition ‘Driving November’. That track is contained herein, and it’s a tasty Tori Amos-like workout embellished with neatly understated strings and Dunne’s own piano. On first hearing it would be easy to dismiss much of this album as music for people who can only handle “nice” music, but repeated listenings excavate veins of deep riches throughout.
Dunne’s experience as a jazz musician and a classical pianist are also in evidence, with many of the songs heavily piano-laden and sporting a string quartet who give full value for money. ‘When I’m Hurting’. ‘Yours For The Taking’ and ‘Stars’ are particularly beguiling, not least because while Dunne can really sing, she puts her obvious vocal skills at the service of the song as opposed to the grandstanding preferred by some of her contemporaries. The Joni Mitchell-ish but heartfelt ‘Bird’ looks at an ailing relationship and has exquisite harmony overdubs. But ‘Mama’, with its hints at ragtime, will be too sugary and showtimey for many, and Dunne’s vocals are less confident on ‘Be Kind’.
After a worrying opening, ‘Something’s Got A Grip On Me’ slips comfortably into a contemporary groove, and the atmospheric ‘What She Can Give Him’ uses plucked strings to fine effect. But for the title track she indulges in the overworked “hidden track” nonsense for which there should be penalty points. When it eventually shows it, it hasn’t been worth the wait, sounding like a clumsy and contrived attempt to rock out.