Tracey Browne - Everyone is Ordinary

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 11 / 3 / 2013

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A more appropriate title for the second album (her debut was a self-released set in 2003 apparently) from the Manchester based singer-songwriter Tracey Browne would have been the opening song, ‘Paradise Found’, for that’s exactly the feeling you get as soon as the song starts. Championed by Thea Gilmore who sings backing vocals here (Browne appeared on Gilmore’s last two albums) and co-produced by Nigel Stonier that says all you need to know to go out and buy this album. Apart from that debut (which didn’t reach these ears I have to admit) and a couple of EPs, Browne’s name has increasingly been seen on some interesting albums. Apart from backing vocals, Browne co-produced (with Stonier) and engineered Risa Hall’s excellent ‘Glass Half..?' album. The Thea Gilmore/Sandy Denny project also saw Browne displaying her engineering talents and adding her backing vocals to three of the best songs on the album, ‘Don’t Stop Singing’, and that’s just two that come readily to mind. A little of Gilmore fleetingly, but unsurprisingly, floats in and out of some of the eleven original Browne songs on ‘Everyone is Ordinary’, and at other times Amy MacDonald springs readily to mind but, for the most part this is Tracey Browne sounding, thankfully, like Tracey Browne. There is no need for comparisons. Browne’s blend of poppy-folk is presented wrapped in beguiling melodies sung in a voice that, despite a few times when the above mentioned can’t be avoided, is like a breath of fresh air in an already overcrowded genre. What Browne brings to the table that the others don’t is not hard to discover. The brightly strummed acoustic guitars that open the album on ‘Paradise Found’ immediately draw you in, as soon as Browne starts singing you are in a place you won’t be in a hurry to leave. The opening line of “I can’t move on ‘till all this is gone” is appropriate. Browne has the type of voice that you fall in love with instantly. It is immediately obvious that, although this is one of those songs that you are hearing it for the first time and it sounds incredibly fresh and of the moment, you feel like you’ve known it all your life. The way Browne sings “And the trust in your heart/And your love is like paradise found” as the song closes is where you start realising that Browne is your new favourite singer. Browne is a believable singer. She is the type of vocalist that has you hanging on every word, even on the more upbeat songs such as ‘Under the Radar’ with smile inducing lines like “I took an instant dislike to you/‘Cause it just saved me some time” and “You’re the ghost of Christmas Pissed?And you can cross me off your list” which features a grittier vocal style from Browne, perfect for the sentiments of that song. Effortlessly Browne then changes pace and turns in a heartfelt vocal performance on the next song, ‘The Cat and the Moon’, a straightforward love song, Browne’s vocals matching the pretty melody in such a way the song almost induces tears. There is something about Browne’s phrasing that she can sing lines like “ready to fall to earth when you call” and make you just melt. Browne really is one hell of a singer. Stonier and Browne show, on this song, that by adding certain instruments, in this case a cello, at just the right moments, an already brilliant song becomes the song you want to hear first thing in the morning and still want to hear it, just one more time before your head hits the pillow. Just when you thought that you’d heard Browne’s most emotive vocal performance the acoustic ‘River City’ comes along to tug at the heartstrings. Another gorgeous melody coupled with Browne’s breathy, almost cracked vocals it is a song to lose yourself in, the imagery conjuring up so many pictures as you listen to the song. The quality of the songs doesn’t dip once throughout the eleven songs. Lyrically Browne covers many bases, ‘The Girl I Knew’ is an acute observation of a loss of trust in a friendship, and there are lines in all her songs that are really affecting. “ There’s a 100ft wall around my heart and a doorway in the shape of you”, which opens ‘Look Through Water’ again ensures that you hang on every word Browne sings during the song. ‘Everyone is Ordinary´ is an extraordinary album from one of our brightest talents. Forget the album being one of the best female singer/songwriter albums to come out over the last few years; it is simply one of the best albums, period. Let’s just hope Browne isn’t in too much demand for her producing/engineering/musical talents elsewhere. She has a promising solo singing career ahead of her.

Track Listing:-

1 Paradise Found
2 Under the Radar
3 The Cat and the Moon
4 River City
5 The Mountain Goat
6 The Girl I Knew
7 My Best Friend, My Ego
8 Look Through Water
9 Comfort Brings Pain
10 Little Wheels
11 Kate Rusby

Band Links:-

http://www.teamtracey.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/TheTraceyBrowne
http://www.songkick.com/artists/1008990-tracey-browne
https://www.facebook.com/tbrownemusic

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