Laura Barrett — Victory Garden

It's rather obvious that Barrett studied linguistics at university as she packs an astounding amount of lyrics into her songs. She's truly on par with some of the most verbose rappers. That said, the word "ho" has thankfully been jettisoned for the less offensive, multi-syllabic "rapscallion" on "Chidiya." Album opener "Wood Between Worlds," with its hauntingly beautiful kalimba and string parts, sounds like it should be playing during a dream sequence in an art house film. Unfortunately, unlike her Earth Sciences EP, which kept my attention pretty well throughout, Victory Garden drags through the middle. Guest contributors that serve as a who's-who of southern Ontario indie musicians (Basia Bulat, members of The Hidden Cameras, The Bicycles, Feuermusik) can't break this monotony. Thankfully, things pick up near the end with "Escape To The Sun Dome," which had me running to the dictionary (winnow: to rid of undesirable parts) and The Adorables-esque theremin jam, "Rien A Declarer," which rocks in both official languages. Victory Garden isn't an outright victory, but worth a listen if you like Barrett or any of her many other bands.

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