MADDY HAY – TELL ME A STORY
Classically-trained Maddy Hay’s talents as a singer and songwriter have been highly touted over the last few years. This second album from the 23-year-old Australian was inspired by her time spent living in Paris and Amsterdam with little but a glockenspiel and her own voice to keep her company. This frame of mind can clearly be discerned on In A Dream, in which melodic fragments float about in a synthy mix. Tell Me A Story isn’t just a wafty daydream, though. The interesting chords of Carousel and the string quartet arrangement which opens Hands showcases Hay as a skilful musician. But although her supporting soundscape is rich and varied, Hay’s voice rarely seems to rise above an apathetic recitation. She sings in a breathy style similar to Björk or Julia Stone, but her voice just isn’t as lively or distinctive as theirs. The vocal inflections in her cover of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy are spot-on, but it still sounds like party-function fodder more than anything else. The stark, attention-grabbing silence which permeates They Will Come serves to highlight every sonic detail in Hay’s voice. However, it instead confirms that her strengths are in inventive arranging rather than powerful singing. The less inspired moments give Norah Jones a run for her money in the ‘pleasant-but-ignorable’ stakes, but Tell Me A Story won’t quite put you to sleep.
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