DAWN KINNARD
THE COURTESY FALL
KENSALTOWN RECORDINGS
WORDS: AW HENDERSON

The Courtesy Fall is one of those lovely pop records that surprises you the first few times you listen to it and then makes perfect sense. The album's first song, "All In Your Head," exemplifies this. Dark, ballsy burps of bass buzz backed by handclaps cut out abruptly to be replaced by gentle acoustic guitar and Kinnard's voice, which is destined to suffer misinformed comparisons to Joanna Newsom. Kinnard's voice is strong but seductive, like rebar wrapped in velvet, and it just smacks of potential greatness. But the potential bubbling under the surface of this record is stymied by that very same loveliness that makes the album so pleasant to listen to. I get the sense that Kinnard's next album will be something special, but for now she's given us something merely very good to tide us over.

In the tradition of promising pop debuts, the songs on The Courtesy Fall represent enough variety to keep you interested for an entire spin without losing focus. It would be a crime for a singer like Kinnard not to include at least a few jazz pieces, so "Fortune Teller" and "SING" keep her out of trouble there. These are capable vessels for her husky voice, but apart from a few post-production squiggles they don't do anything unexpected, and Kinnard's voice slips straight through them. Her pipes are put to their first test on "Island," a dense, rolling track whose layers of piano and percussion aptly emulate the feeling of being surrounded by isolating waves. Alone in the maelstrom is Kinnard, her vocals' smokiness somehow resisting the rending effects of the storm. She makes it through to the end, and we're all ok.

Because I can't resist any longer, I'm just going to skip to the end: "White Walls." This 7-1/2 minute closer towers over the rest of the album reproachfully, as if to say, "Why even bother?" This is the first song after the hints dropped in "All In Your Head" that points toward Kinnard's talent at interesting songwriting. Truly, it is the perfect way to end the album, with at least three of its final minutes devoted to crescendoing bombast. Think The Flaming Lips' "The Gash" with a feminine touch of restraint. And a much better voice.

The album's flaws are mostly predictable. Some songs reveal themselves to be formulaic after the fifth listen, this or that clumsy lyric sticks out too far to be ignored. These are rookie mistakes that don't require too generous of a heart to forgive. If anything, they show how much room she has to improve, while the rest of the album proves that she's got what it takes to do so. If The Courtesy Fall doesn't make one of the biggest splashes of the year, then I guarantee the next thing to come from the House of Kinnard will.