Michelle Branch - The Spirit Room

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Music reviews of The Spirit Room

Music Review: strong debut w/ a few weak areas...
Rating: 4 Stars

1. Everywhere: First single, still addictive. Her guitar riffs here are catchy and immediately likeable; it also has a more "rock" feel to it than most of the album. This is the song that made me fall in love with her in the first place - the lyrics are deceptively simple but are written with much thought. I'm a writer, so I appreciate clever usages of words in lyrics and Michelle, although not a pro lyricist, is decent at doing this. Check out the part near the closing when Michelle twists around the wording for the chorus: "You're everywhere to me/ And when I catch my breath/ It's you I breathe." Very sweet song and her strongest track. 10/10

2. You Get Me - I didn't like this song when I got the album, and I still skip over it whenever I listen to the CD. It's the most "poppy" song out of her offered set, and the lyrics never did touch me. Also, the general feeling of the song to me is that she didn't put as much thought into it as the others. 4/10

3. All You Wanted - I used to be obsessed with this song. It seemed so fitting for my relationship with my boyfriend at the time: "So lonely inside/ so busy out there/ And all you wanted was somebody who cares." It caters to teen feelings of romance, sure, but it's a rocking song, nonetheless. Worth the price of the CD alone along with [Everywhere]. 9/10

4. You Set Me Free - "You're the only one that leaves me completely breathless." This song, despite the heavy guitar sound, is pure pop. Its sister song is the next [Something to Sleep to] and these two wore out quickly. They don't stand up well to repeated listenings, since they're filler. Still, it's cute, and the tune is catchy enough. 6/10

5. Something to Sleep To - What can I say? This song is also rather mediocre, although a little slower in pace than the previous cut. Observe. The opening is: "She's his yellow brick road/ Leading him on..." ... hmm.. one of her attempts at originality that falls flat. 5/10

6. Here With Me - The disk finally starts to pick up in the second half, starting with this gem of a fluffy, fun pop-rock song. The sound is heavier in this one, much like [Everywhere], and it works well with the lyrics. "I know you had to go away/ I died just a little/ And I feel it now/ You're the one I need." Catchy chorus, pretty opening. 8/10

7. Sweet Misery - This track is the first of a quartet that come off her previous independent release, [Broken Bracelet]. It has been reworked to sound more "full" but I thought the original bare-bones sound worked better. However, the song is still a good one, and this one is one of the stronger ones off the disk. 7/10

8. If Only She Knew - This is Michelle at her creative best. The song is so cool because it sounds somewhat off-kilter; give it listen to see what I mean! The beat is off, but the lyrics are right-on; an awesome combination that packs a one-two punch. "I don't know who said I'm taken/ But I'm not taking things too well." -> pure ear-candy. Unlike with [Sweet Misery], I liked how the sound of this song was improved from her first CD. (Coincidentally, it doesn't sound much different). My only one (minor) complaint is that there was a word change that I thought caused a significant shift in the mood of the song. The original wording to the opening was: "I don't know who said I'm taken/ But you're not taking things too well." But like I said, it's a minor miff. Witty, original, and pure Michelle. 10/10

9. I'd Rather be in Love - One of my favorite songs off the album (ok, one out of many), but this one is another winner. Also coming from [Broken Bracelet], the song hasn't been changed much, although the pace has picked up a bit. What always touched me about this song was how mature she sounded for ... what, all of 17 years when she probably wrote it. I could listen to this song on repeat for days. Along with the next single, [I'd Rather be in Love] is my pick for the best ballad pair on [The Spirit Room]. 9/10

10. Goodbye to You - This was released a while ago as a single, and aptly so. This is a strong ballad by Michelle, unlike her earlier attempts on the CD. There's nothing new in the song in terms of lyrics or melody that you haven't already heard on other albums by teenage girls, but Michelle's earnestness and sweet voice gives this a little edge. 8/10

11. Drop in the Ocean - When I first heard this song, I was disappointed at how odd it sounded. Although I appreciate the effort more now, I still feel it was a weak way to close the album. I've read other reviews online where [Drop in the Ocean] was commended as a nice effort to "showcase" the full range of Michelle's vocal abilities, but if you ask me, it sounds hurriedly put together and her voice sounds worse here than on the rest of the album. 3/10

So, if you average the scores this album gets an overall of about 7/10, which sounds about right. Michelle has tried to include a variety of songs on her debut album (or as much variety as you can wring out of pop-rock songs, anyway), but her weaker sides brought down the quality of the release somewhat. Michelle is not much for ballads, as evidenced by a couple clunkers on this CD, and definitely not "deep song" material -- [Drop in the Ocean] was no doubt meant to sound a lot more impressive than it really is. Her abilities as a singer are passable, as are her guitar-playing skills. So, why do I still encourage you to buy this album? Michelle's emotion and lyric-writing ability still set her apart from the new pack of do-everything-myself teenage artists, and more important than anything else, she's not afraid to take risks in her songs. It might not always work out for the better, but it's what proves that she's really got a love for music and that her full potential as an artist are yet to be released. If she stuck only with her strength of fun, fast-paced pop-rock songs, then she wouldn't grow much at all. Her last couple collaboration efforts such as [Game of Love] with Santana and [Without You] with justincase have shown an already stronger Michelle who's just posed to truly break out. I'm highly looking forward to her next album, and I know she won't disappoint.

Description of The Spirit Room

Alternative Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Folk
• Pop
• Rock