Pop songstress Adrina Thorpe returns with her sophomore record, Halflight & Shadows. The album is intended to represent the progressive journey of an unnamed main character. Filled with struggle and questioning, the album is rife with melody and experimental instrumentation that accompanies Thorpe’s very low key, unobtrusive voice.
Halflight & Shadows’ highlights are certainly its inaugural tracks. The musically atmospheric yet lyrically pointed “Impossible Dream” captures the listener right off the bat, setting them up for a journey that will continue throughout the album. “Midnight” takes a more introspective lyrical approach and is much more musically experimental, reminding me of mid to late nineties Tori Amos albums. While the rest of the album has its up and downs, few of the tracks manage to rise to the heights of the aforementioned. The gentle “Driving” is a solid moment and fairly creative in a minimalist sort of way. Likewise “Kiss the Day” is impressive as well. It’s a very upbeat track and features Thorpe’s best vocal work overall in my opinion. Additionally, the chorus of “Kiss the Day” is probably the single best moment on the album.
While much of this album fails to raise the bar for the Pop or Singer/Songwriter genre, its’ not at all a bad album. The primary albatross here is its familiarity. If you heard any of these songs on the radio you’d be tempted to think its any number of female performers out there now. I believe Thorpe is onto something great with Halflight & Shadows, she just hasn’t fully discovered it yet.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
