Mess You Up

Beth Boucher has an appealingly clear and warm voice, her midtempo songs are relatively catchy, and her lyrics reflect a playful, self-deprecating, and occasionally bitter sense of humor. At her best, she shows a good eye for detail (the protagonist of "Elusive Thing" "lighting up a cigarette from a blue gas flame"); at her worst, she belabors an uninspired metaphor (comparing her feelings to "the slam of an industrial freezer door" in "Frozen"). But most of the time she avoids the pitfalls that have messed up other singer/songwriters, such as overwrought emotions and fuzzy-headed lyrics. Her music isn't strikingly original, but it is a generally tasteful mixture of folk, pop, and other styles, with contributions from talented musicians such as guitarists Kurt Swinghammer (Ani DiFranco, Dan Bryk) and Luke Doucet (Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk).