Suspension of Disbelief

Many singer/songwriter debut albums (and, for that matter, many singer/songwriter albums by veterans) are essentially comprised of love songs, even if the words were usually more numerous and involved by the early 21st century than they were in pop of eras past. Lindy's 2004 maiden effort is one such record, full of longing, wonderment, and some disillusionment. It doesn't stand out much from the pack, however, either lyrically or, perhaps more importantly, musically. It's straightforward singer/songwriter rock, neither too mainstream nor too alternative, with a vague melodic similarity to Paul McCartney (or to journeyman post-'70s acts influenced by McCartney and the Beatles). Lindy sings with a decent, if non-striking, higher-than-average voice, and the arrangements are varied and polished, ranging from acoustic folksiness to near-anthemic guitar pop without making much of an impact. Without much to hang on to, the listener's reduced to wondering if he nicked the phrase "I don't recall San Francisco at all" from Bob Dylan's unreleased-until-the-1990s 1966 outtake "She's Your Lover Now," or whether that's just a coincidence. The enhanced CD-ROM content on this disc includes a video of "Witness," interview clips, and photos.