China Forbes – 78

78 – China Forbes

By Aiden Roberts

With an enticingly hazy title, 78, this solo album from Pink Martini’s leading lady appropriately launches itself with an air of nostalgia and smoke-screened gentleness. Sounds nice, but frustratingly this record is a bit of a two-sided gift card. Forbes’ songs carry sunny, 70’s melodics, akin to what Ben Folds is doing, but sadly lack a lot of the theatricality or panache of the her clear songwriting heroes. The title track 78 is pretty and autumnal with its bumping, meloncholic trumpet lines and Forbes’ sweet lullaby vocal. Most of the tracks carry a sort of American soft-rock lilt a la Carly Simon, The Eagles, shades of Judi Sill, but again lacking a warmth or real depth of colour to the recording or performance. Her voice is resonant and assuredly relaxed, which is nice, but musically perhaps a few more risks may have yielded a more engaging affair. Maybe China Forbes needs Rick Rubin to bring her true American colours out’ Oh, and it’s hard to imagine how her guitarist in Everybody Needs Somebody got away with stealing poor George Harrison’s signature riff from My Sweet Lord.

**1/2