MEAN OLD CLOCK

Leena

EMI

3 stars

After a stint playing the support fiddle for the extraordinary Rufus Wainwright, Tasmanian songstress Leena was beckoned to LA to work with famed producer Joe Chicarelli, who has Wainwright, White Stripes, Tori Amos and U2 on his impressive resume.

She also worked with Josh Pike on this five-track EP, and I think that hints more honestly at what’s on offer here.

Opener ‘Family Tree’ and closer ‘Mean Old Clock’ are clearly the highlights – and the most Wainwright-esque – but the middle three reek of Pyke’s samey, singer-songwriter pop-rock, which I find generally bland and underdone.

But Mean Old Clock shows definite promise, and her vocal inflections are great. My advice to Leena? Turn up the Wainwright, turn down the Pyke.

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