Like An Aspen Leaf

One thing you can’t accuse Jane Weaver of is rushing things. After a series of critically acclaimed EPs her debut album finally arrives and what do you know, it’s a seven tracker weighing in at an all too brief twenty five minutes – the length of Mogwai’s last single or something. But if good things come in small packages, Like An Aspen Leaf is not only very wee but also exceptionally wonderful.

Produced by Weaver herself and largely performed solo, it’s a record instilled with the kind of vision and spirit that we perhaps thought dead in these dark days of Pop Idol and Louis Walsh – think of a meeting between Badly Drawn Boy and Liz Phair and you’ll get the picture. With a roll call of fellow Mancs, including a couple of Elbows, on hand to put flesh on the songs’ fragile bones, the likes of ‘The Heart That Buckled You’ and ‘Why Don’t You Smile’ are steeped in a fragile beauty.

If on first listening there seems to be something of a lack of memorable tunes, repeated exposure reveals Weaver’s writing to be of the highest order – ‘Ridiculous’ is already emerging as a contender for song of the year. So Weaver leaves us staggered by her brilliance and desperately wanting more. Not a bad way to be, all told.