Editorial Reviews

British singer-songwriter Rachel Fuller has roots in classical composition and arrangement, skills she put to the fore working with partner Pete Townshend on his Lifehouse project. On her own work, Fuller flexes these muscles in service to pensive and uplifting songs that alternately brood upon and rejoice in the stranglehold of love. Compared with the more serious-minded singer we encountered on her album debut, Cigarettes & Housework, she sounds lighter on Shine, as if liberated by love. The ballad "I Can Fly" takes wing on a swell of keyboards, both organic and synthetic -- a gentle cushion from which Fuller's delicate pipes soar. The title track, another ballad, rides meditative verses to rousing choruses that evoke the contemporary folk sound of Jane Siberry or Shawn Colvin. Fuller caresses her ode to passion, "Pleasure Seeker," with gutsy, classically inspired piano runs, thrumming electric guitar chords, and prog-tinged synths. A similar theme courses through the electro-pop-meets-folk "In the Mix," while she strips things down on the spare "Just Breathe," which pairs her graceful voice with acoustic guitar pickings from Townshend. At five tunes, the refreshingly modern folk-pop of Shine plays like an elegantly constructed suite, and just like the subject matter at hand, it leaves you wanting more. Lydia Vanderloo, Barnes & Noble

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