Time loops around itself and the future becomes the past and never more so than in the tawdry hell of the music business. English singer songwriters are far from uncommon and, despite their numbers, they never evoke much in the way of interest from either the beleaguered record business or a generally disinterested public. The title of Tracey Browne’s “Everyone Is Ordinary” seems, is that context, somewhat prophetic.
The day of the confessional female singer songwriter has been and gone, at least in mainstream terms, and that is something of a shame when you consider the music of Tracey Browne. She clearly knows how to assemble a commercial song and imbue it with that certain resonance that people – if I may be sexist, particularly women – can relate to. Take some of her songs, and I think of “The Cat and The Moon” and “Look Through Water”, to someone like Cheryl Cole and I am sure that they would be welcomed with open arms. Her own performances on those songs, however, seem way too workmanlike more what you would expect of a session singer than a performer wanting to make her mark. Don’t get me wrong, Tracey Browne is capable of hitting that sweet spot but it is only on the more stripped out songs such as “River City” and “Comfort and Pain” that you will find evidence of that.
A bit of research indicates that “Everyone Is Ordinary” has been doing the rounds for a while. Despite the quality of the song writing and a generally pleasing voice, Tracey Browne is let down by the insipid production that makes her sound - and here’s the prophetic bit now – a bit ordinary.