Album Review: Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny - Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose

It's great to hear a debut album that captures the grit and excitement of a young performer or band who's obviously gone for it tooth and nail in the studio. As annoying and strange as Houghton is, her debut is a stunning example of getting it right song after song. The strains of her wailing voice work perfectly against the odd instrumentation of her band. It also helps that the choice of Ben Hillier as producer makes perfect sense. Houghton's involvement with a certain Chili Pepper is another ingredient in the mix.

Overall the album shows off Houghton's strange vocal gymnastics while not spoiling the songs. Night Swimmer is gentle and darkly impressive, while Atlas is rambling and odd in structure. Some of her vocal themes on tracks like Sweet Tooth Bird border on nasty to sickly sweet from verse to chorus. Whether it's her desire to impress through sheer abandonment or serious artistic leanings, she succeeds on Carousel, which is almost schizophrenic in the lyric department. The youthful energy and sensibility of her band keeps Houghton from going too far over the edge.

The strength of Yours Truly lies in its abandon and ability to ignore any genres it could easily fall into. The new folk sound, so popular at the moment, is fortunately ignored by Hillier's production and the band's novel approach. Compared to Florence & The Machine, who shares similarities, Houghton is a little more inspired and daring. Hers will be an interesting career to watch.