Album review: SUSAN CATTANEO – Haunted Heart

SUSAN CATTANEO - Haunted Heart

Jersey Girl Music [Release date 20.01.14]

We’ve been impressed at GRTR! by Cattaneo’s previous releases, and her fourth album Haunted Heart continues the good work.

The warm honeyed vocals of previous releases are still there, as is range of styles that, as well as encompassing country, folk, roots and blues, this time throwing a little French chanson into the mix for good measure with the title track whose intro opens the album and whose reprise closes it.

Once again the playing is exemplary from a stellar cast from the Americana scene, but on this outing Cattaneo takes a creative left turn away from her modern New England Americana style to explore a more organic sound. Meanwhile, regular producer Lorne Entress continues to steer a carefully crafted course.

Unlike previous outings, Haunted Heart is something of a slow burn. It’s a deliberate ploy following post-traumatic stress disorder that has seen her stop chasing that elusive ‘radio hit’ and writing darker, more personal songs. It’s a move that’s been therapeutic for Cattaneo, but fans who enjoyed the mainstream crossover nature of her previous releases may have an initial double take.

But stick with it, and Haunted Heart soon begins to reward, such as on the iconic mid-west dustbowl imagery of Abide, the smouldering Revival, and the lovely Lies Between Lovers. There may be an absence of the hooks that attracted us to her previous releases, but make no mistake, this is Susan Cattaneo’s most mature work to date. ***1/2

Review by Pete Whalley

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