You may think you've heard Wendy Lands. Maybe it was her vocal interpretations of Wladyslaw Szpilman's classics on the haunting CD companion to the Oscar winning film 'The Pianist'. It could have been on her JUNO nominated confessional hit CD 'Angels & Ordinary Men'. Or maybe you were in the audience for the original Canadian production of 'Les Miserables', where she starred as 'Eponine'. You may just remember Lands as half of the late 80's duo 'Double Dare'. After all that, it would be understandable to believe you'd 'heard' Wendy Lands. But you would be wrong.
All of the above were stops on a journey - one that culminates in the vulnerable ache - the jazzy undertow that is Mumble (available on iTunes). Only when you've heard these sparsely yet soulfully arranged songs filled with lyrical depth, a pop - jazz - rootsy sensibility and the kind of vocal stylings, will you have truly heard Wendy Lands.
With Mumble, Wendy taps into her years of acclaimed songwriting to tell her own stories of vulnerability, flirtation and desire, fulfilled and unfulfilled. The album is a good night, a sweet morning after and a serenade where sentimental meets sensual.
Why Mumble? As Wendy explains it, "To me a mumble is the first utterance of the naked truth - the subconscious coming to the surface, unfiltered by the conscious. That's what these songs are for me; what I feel and dream but can't always say. So I sing."
So lean in and hear her sing. Close your eyes. Let her wash over and through you - and hear Wendy Lands Mumble. It's definitely goes down as one of my favourite albums from 2011.
Follow Wendy Lands on Twitter @WendyLands
Printer-friendly version