JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN – THE DEEPER FIELD
Having released two albums dealing with loss, it is perhaps hardly surprising that Joan Wasser (Joan as Police Woman) begins her third album, in many ways one about happiness, with Nervous – as song about being nervous about how happy she is (with her new love). It is not surprising then that Deeper Field doesn’t have the intensity and intimacy of its predecessors. Dealing with the loss of a lover – Jeff Buckley – and then her mother, are raw moments in life that offer great scope; rightly or wrongly, far less great art is made form life’s joys and happiness then her tribulations and sorrows.Wasser’s vocals remain at the centre of the album, even as the songs stray from jazz to soul, funk and folk, all the time retaining the smoothest of tones. Although now of the aforementioned might suggest it, somehow Wasser manages evokes the spirit of Lou Reed – a punk princess with a deeper soul heart. A cautious step outside grief from Joan as Police Woman, lets hope she bursts forth next time.
*** 1/2
