Monster In My Heart
Erin Benjamin
Baby Hugh Productions
1998
11 tracks
Since her first, self-titled, release, Erin Benjamin has grown, both as a writer and as a performer. The songs on Monster In My Heart no longer have the self-conscious folkiness evident in many of the songs on her first CD. This is music which, while still clearly falling somewhere on the folk continuum, could easily make the crossover to a number of other contemporary genres.
Benjamin's lyrics now have the depth and richness of a Janis Ian rather than the sometimes obvious folkiness of Joni Mitchell and the orchestrations provide a powerful engine to drive Benjamin's stories forward.
Where Benjamin had once seemed to wear her songwriting influences like her heart on her sleeve, now the sound is uniquely hers. Certainly Benjamin has extracted and kept the best of what her idols could teach her, and there is still a lot of Joni Mitchell in her style, but the soup of her beginnings has evolved into something new and wonderful and alive in its own right.
The fullness of the arrangements here fall just this side of syrupy, managing just the right lush consistency to carry Benjamin's unique vocal technique. This is a fine line to walk, and arranger Dick van Raadshooven has managed it exquisitely, achieving luxuriant warmth without falling into schlock. I have before compared Erin Benjamin to Holly Cole, both for talent and her tendency toward jazz stylings. That comparison still holds.
A casual listener may not notice, but Benjamin's lyrics have a much harder edge this time around. Indeed, to those who actually listen to the words (and not everybody does), these lyrics may even shock.
There are songs here about bulemia (She is a Beauty), the murder of a child (Amy), abusive relationships (Harder Than the Rain), and other hard things life can bring. As stand-alone poems (that is, for the lyric alone), my preference among these lyrics would be "Carry On" and "Hang On to Me," although all the lyrics are as tightly and powerfully written.
Choosing a favourite, or even defining a best song for qualitative or other reasons, could be a difficult task. The songs on this CD are relatively uniform and balanced in quality, and that quality is high. Erin Benjamin is definitely an artist to watch. It will be most interesting to see where she goes from here.
Also read a review of Erin Benjamin's 1996 self titled release, erin benjamin. Those interested in more information on Erin Benjamin can find it at the Baby Hugh Productions web site.
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