Michelle Branch
The Spirit Room

THE REVIEW

The year 2001 for Pop and Rock music represents, without a doubt, a decidedly interesting year: we see the rebirth of the so-called "Alternative" genre, which not only involves Rock bands of a certain caliber, including, for example, System Of A Down, already active two years prior with their self-titled debut year, but also particularly the Pop/Rock scene with the proliferation of groups like Maroon 5 with their debut album Songs About Jane and especially in the more songwriting-oriented Pop/Rock realm Michelle Branch with her debut album The Spirit Room.

Sweet yet gritty Michelle, native of Flagstaff, Arizona on the "far" 3rd of July, 1983, but grown up in Sedona, also in the state of Arizona, thanks especially to the work of an experienced and, in his own way, innovative producer in the American Pop/Rock field such as Californian John Shanks, producer, among others, of Bon Jovi in the album Have A Nice Day, showcases in this very interesting debut at only 17 and a half some rather notable technical skills: just try to believe the opening "smash hit" Everywhere (later becoming a well-known advertisement song for a popular Italian phone company) which opens with Michelle's guitar and voice followed by a fast and pleasant rhythm with a little solo in the middle for just about 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

Other extremely catchy songs are You Get Me and especially All You Wanted which demonstrate how one can still produce a Pop of appreciable quality, despite the so-called mainstream that, as they say, tends to reward the "bad currency" instead of the "good."

You Set Me Free is another catchy tune, characterized by a nice drum set by Vinnie Colaiuta in sessionman version and a rhythm that exudes freshness from every pore.

But the undoubtedly most intriguing piece and the jewel of the album is certainly Something To Sleep To: it is, in fact, a piece with even references to the Beatles (of whom she even declared herself a fan at the beginning of her career), especially with a pre-recorded base at the beginning of a cymbal about to play in contact with a hypothetical old-fashioned record player, which then gives way to a piece with a darker rhythm than the previous ones, as if to underline the lament of the beloved who does not at all resign to the idea of a relationship dramatically deteriorating.

Michelle's workshop also churns out other fresh numbers like Here With Me and the sweet Sweet Misery which are also notable for their catchiness and very pleasant melodies, although not reaching major peaks.

If Only She Knew begins with a nice guitar arpeggio by Branch and then pleasantly develops on chords that vaguely remind of the aforementioned Everywhere, albeit from afar.

I'd Rather Be In Love is another piece of good quality which, instead, stands out for good work on keyboards and synthesizers as well as for Michelle's always sweet but powerful voice.

Another gem of this work, however, is represented by the poignant Goodbye To You which showcases Michelle's remarkable vocal notes alternating between sweetness, pain, and loneliness, just like the music that weaves between brief but intense passages of piano, acoustic guitar, and synthesizers, thus highlighting a piece that's complete in every part.

This fine work concludes with the "watery" Drop In The Ocean where the music takes on very particular contours, with even a light sprinkling of psychedelia and an increasingly rhythmic ending in which the already mentioned Colaiuta's drumming certainly represents an excellent added value.

Branch's career, although then continued in a discontinuous and uneven manner, could therefore take off starting from that February 2001, the year of the album's release, with additional high-profile collaborations, including with legendary guitarist Carlos Santana in The Game Of Love, followed in 2003 by the album Hotel Paper.

Finally, changes on an artistic and personal level will unfortunately lead her to be perceived in Italy, for example, as a mere meteor, albeit endowed with a beautiful and pure light of her own that will hardly ever be extinguished by simply listening to this work, as mentioned, of excellent level, especially when compared to the (bleak) Pop/Rock scene of our times.