My Shirt Looks Good On You

Like many of her American singing song writing kin, Catie Curtis has been doing her own sweet thing for some time now, releasing three albums of increasingly confident and impressive acoustic based rock. With her fourth effort, the whisper is building steadily to a scream. With a ‘proper’ rock producer at the helm, Curtis finally finds herself with a full electric backing, giving her songs a more mainstream edge.

Never one with a particular axe to grind, My Shirt Looks Good On You is another upbeat, sunny collection. Always blessed with the knack of penning lyrics that cut across any particular gender or sexuality, the title track and ‘Kiss That Counted’ are energetic, radio friendly paeans to love, sex and happiness, while ‘Jane’ is a more specific examination of a gay love affair. There are shades of Petty, Springsteen and Crowe in approach but Curtis is in possession of a strong enough personality to give this well-worn sound a fresh twist. And at its heart, you won’t find many better collections of songs anywhere this year than on My Shirt Looks Good On You.