You Look Like A Mirror To Me

Britta Persson “At 7” – The title refers to the time when a game is set to begin, and though it very well may be literal (ie, a sporting event), the real significance lies in the figurative meaning: Once again, the singer and her suitor will be stuck in a romantic stalemate, with neither of them knowing just how to progress to the next level of their inept flirtation. She worries about overstepping, she wishes she could be more aggressive, but she’s resigned to feeling powerless and confused. The best she can do is to ask him to sit next to her, and cross her fingers in hope that maybe this will be her lucky night.

I really must emphasize just how much I love Britta Persson’s voice on this, and pretty much every other track on her new album. Her phrasing and tonality has a great emotional depth to it — at her most confident, she recalls the restrained warmth of Natalie Merchant, and at her most fragile she reminds me of a more polished version of Liz Phair. Without overplaying a sense of intimacy, Kill Hollywood Me as a whole seems very personal and distinct, to the point that I come away from it feeling as though I know her, or at least in the sense that some fictional characters (and/or the actors who play them) can seem as familiar to me as my own friends and family. (Click here to buy it from It’s A Trap.)