On the Record: VanessaCarlton

Artist : Vanessa Carlton Album : Harmonium (Universal Music)

Although Vanessa Carlton safely bypasses the tricky sophomore slump on this record, it does not bring her to the next level.

As ambitious and supported by refined arrangement as this record is, supported by the fine arrangement of beau and producer/co-writer/musician Stephan Jenkins (of Third Eye Blind), as a whole it is not good.

It kicks off OK, with a true Carltonian song, White Houses, with that upbeat acoustic piano -- the very formula of 2002's A Thousand Miles.

Carlton shows that she is a pretty good lyricist, especially compared to her peers like Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne.

But the insistent piano playing and gloomy soundscape still do not put her in the league of Tori Amos (although there are some Amos-esques songs, including Half A Week Before A Winter).

There is no depth and a decided lack of emotion, and she had better do something to rid herself of that whiny and babyish voice as well. -- Hera Diani