Hersh, Kristin : A Cleaner Light

No, not a German walnut liqueur heavily advertised between hog-wrestling and oompah-fest progs on late-night Bavarian TV but a moderately sized singer-songwriter whose trick is to combine the 'sonic cathedral' schtick with bing-bonga-mental loony tunes. And the best thing about her is that she used to live in a car with Charlie Harper out of smelly old poonk rock combo UK Subs who wrote the song 'Live In Car' about it. It went, "Live in a car! Live in a car! I don't need no yard!/No ID Card/Cops try to get me but I don't care/I'm never there!" and it was great. This unfortunately Harper-free effort isn't bad, but for God's sake stop listening after the first track because then she starts howling, "On the rooooooooooof! On the rooooooooof!" in what is apparently an acoustic cover version of something called 'Throwing Muses'. But if you do get that far then - keep listening! - and you'll be sure to be won over by Kristin's ever so slightly 'zany' charms. You'll go mad but it'll be worth it. And it's only a suggestion, but if Ms Hersh's management were to team her up with some decent songwriters - like those responsible for the first Spice Girls album - then I'd say she's got the potential to become a major pop star. Controversial, I know, but it had to be said.



Steven Wells