When This Kiss Is Over It Will Start Again by Gretchen Lieberum

written by: Cory Q

Now Gretchen has released her fourth album, When This Kiss Is Over It Will Start Again (WTKIOIWSA from here on). This twelve track, 43 minute outing most certainly carries with it the bulk of the traits that seduced me when listening to Siren Songs, but it is a hard act to follow. Siren Songs is what I would consider to be a Perfect Album: There isn't a single track that I would skip. How can someone follow that up? The bar was set impossibly high. In a communique to the folks who have signed up to be on her mailing list (which I am one), Gretchen states about WTKIOIWSA, "it is a bit of a departure from the last one" and she is right. This effort is more stripped down, there is more ukulele, less electronic fusion elements, and the songs seem shorter (weather or not they are).

That being said, WTKIOIWSA is a success and a joy to listen to in its own right. The production by Gus Seyffert (who tours with Norah Jones) is consistently smooth with emphasis on Gretchen's voice. Oh, Gretchen's voice! That is the real selling point of this album. Her delivery is so nuanced, so delicate, so knowing, forgiving, and full of longing at the same time as to astound the listener that the music buying populace would ever accept anything less. The word "soul" would be a vague sketch of the magical gift that Gretchen possesses.

As for the individual songs, here I have to own up to being less informative than I would like. I've listened to this album at least two dozen times (I'm listening to "Cut and Run" as I write this!) but of those repetitions, most have been in a sub-optimal listening environment. The short of it is that I don't know the words yet. I went to Gretchen's official web page but the lyrics for this album aren't posted yet. There are some things I can tell you though... The title hails from a line in the song "Heaven" which is a cover of the Talking Heads song. There are two other covers on the album as well. "Permanently Lonely" by Willie Nelson and "Real Love" by John Lennon. This isn't an issue for me in that I don't know any of the originals off the top of my head. "The Tree Song" is a short, fun little piece. "Dark Days" is completely accurate song to lead the album as it is shadowy and full of half-lights. "Cut and Run" has a very good character sketch in the opening lines. "Like Winter" might be my favorite cut on the record, but that has as much to do with the thick midwinter I am currently experiencing here in Minnesota as it has to do with the mood of the song itself.

There are a couple things I didn't like about this album. The main one is the song "Heaven". It isn't that Gretchen doesn't do a fantastic job with it. I just find the lyrics (that one was easy to track down) to be lame. I'm not a big Talking Heads fan.

A note on personnel: Joey Waronker drums on this album. He is notable for playing not only with Beck, but with Walt Mink. If you don't know Walt Mink, shame on you.

I'm not a fan of rating albums on a 'star scale'. It just seems clunky. As such, I will sum up my review by saying that I would easily recommend this album to anyone who is looking for a work of depth and delicacy. If absolutely pressed to compare the sound to someone else, I would say that Gretchen Lieberum is in a broad category with Melody Gardot, but without the crappy scat singing, better lyrics, and more transparent production, or Julie London with a stronger (more true) voice and original material.

Gretchen doesn't have a record label per se, which makes procuring her albums a little bit more difficult, but I want to emphasize that such an undertaking is completely worth the effort!
CD Baby or iTunes are a good ways to go.

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