Dubbed “the best British female singer-songwriter of the last ten years” by one English publication, Thea Gilmore has yet to make much of dent here in the U.S. Avalanche is her second disc to be released on this side of the Atlantic. The fact is, she doesn’t have much competition in the U.K. We’ve got more than our share of singer-songwriters over here, and whether Americans are ready for a female David Gray of sorts is open to discussion.
Avalanche finds Gilmore adding more electronics to her sound than she’s used in the past, and in general the effect is distracting when it should be enhancing. She obviously possesses talent for writing hooks and insightful lyrics, as illustrated by the jangly “Juliet (Keep That In Mind)” and the appropriately eerie “Apparition #13”.
Still, comparisons to Costello and Dylan, as the Brit mags have boasted, is a bit overwrought. At times, Gilmore more aptly recalls Linda Thompson, Maura O’Connell, Kirsty MacColl, or any number of female singer-songwriters covering traditional ground with some pop leanings.
