Essra

Her ties with Asylum severed, Mohawk moved on to the Private Stock label (most famous for releasing the early Blondie albums), and made an album with jazz, gospel and disco leanings. Her songs here are as engaging as ever, but the instrumentation and production are glossy and slick — not an approach that works well. Scratch the polished surface, and the album actually seems pretty anemic, with only two exceptional cuts: the twin smoky ballads "Summersong" and "Hello Winter," both examples of masterful writing and execution. A lot of the rest is fun, camp and ultimately throwaway, particularly the forgettable dance workout "I Wanna Feel Ya." Nevertheless, Mohawk commits some powerful vocal performances to record — the codas of "Holy Trinity" and "God Help It" feature high-pitched obligato solos that would leave Mariah Carey hanging her head in shame and inferiority. There's also a streak of humor at work; "People Will Talk," the neurotic number that appears twice and bookends the set, closes with Mohawk simulating a nervous breakdown with alarming accuracy. "My family won't talk to me, and I can't go to my psychiatrist anymore, because I can't pay the bills... and...I want to run free and nude, but they'll arrest me...," she gamely stutters.