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Trentalange - Photo Album of Complex relationships
(2006, Coco Tauro Records)
Best known for fronting the Seattle band Spyglass and for providing keyboards and vocals for Crooked Fingers on their last tour, Barbara Trentalange makes her solo debut with the somewhat uneven Photo Album of Complex Relationships.
Conjuring mood and atmosphere seems to come easy to Trentalange. Playing most of the instruments herself, including everything from pianos and flutes to wine glasses and theremins, she piles the misery and the drama. The lyrics are those of the morbid-but-grown-up goth variety, mostly concerning loneliness, loss and unhealthy relationships.
Vocally speaking, Trentalange does indeed have some chops. She has a beautiful tone and excellent control. The only problem is that her presentation hasn't yet developed any sort of distinction or personal identity. Sometimes she sounds like Aimee Mann, sometimes it's Siouxsie Sioux or Kate Bush or even fellow Seattle-ite Nancy Wilson from Heart.
Another problem is that the songs seem to build and build but never seem to reach a crescendo. She layers tension with great finesse in each of the album's 12 tracks but mostly holds back any sort of release from the listener. It could just be an aesthetic preference but I don't know.
I look at Photo Album of Complex Relationships as a formative, working out of the kinks, sort of experience. A couple albums down the road she'll have completed the sometimes awkward transition from band mate to solo artist. With time I'm hoping that Trentalange will be offering material worthy of the Nick Cave and Peter Gabriel comparisons she sometimes gets, but for now she's just getting started.
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