Carley Tanchon - Leave The Light On

Carley Tanchon - Leave The Light On
2011, Carley Tanchon

New York-basedsinger/songwriter Carley Tanchon has made her success the old fashionedway.  She’s earned it with relentlesstouring and hard work.  The Cleveland,Ohio native has lived in Boston and Nashville, with a side-trip to Australia,but settled in NYC in 2010.  For herlatest album, Leave The Light On,Tanchon enlisted the production and songwriting assistance of Felix McTeigue(Lucy Wainwright-Roche, Katharine McPhee, Madi Diaz, Anais Mitchell).  The result is a mixed blessing, with Tanchonfinding a solid sound but getting too caught up in her own musical safety zone.

Leave The Light On opens with "Missing You", a regretful, down-tempopop ballad that finds Tanchon yearning for someone from the past. Tanchon has apleasant voice, although she sounds a bit breathy on the higher notes here."The Great Unknown" is an apologist, multi-level love song, writtenin a classic singer/songwriter style. Tanchon gives an intriguing vocalperformance here, and the emotional Diaspora that characterizes the song isamazingly clear. "I Guess I Know" is a soulful pop number, strippeddown and wide open in arrangement. Tanchon's voice inhabits the middle as if itwas born there, and the funky rhythm that underlies it all will get your toestapping.

After a strong start, Tanchonsettles into a comfortable zone that's aurally appealing but doesn't really standout, and stays there for much of the rest of the album. "Blues In C(Fearlessly)", is a minor exception, and the almost country strains of"Walk Away" are appealing. Tanchon is almost at albums end with"On The Road" before she breaks out of her rut with the almost peppy,yet absolutely catchy tune. Tanchon takes her leave with "Love Will",an optimistic love song that's solid enough, although once again Tanchonstruggles a bit with her tone when she ascends the scale.

Carley Tanchon gives fair effort on LeaveThe Light On, but gets too bogged down in a sense of musical complacencythat is likely to wear on the listener. Tanchon starts strong, but just cannotmaintain the momentum across the full album. Even in the lull the album suffersin the middle, Tanchon's voice is enjoyable as long as she doesn't try to gotoo far up the scale. This is a solid effort that is pleasing to the ear butnever really distinguishes itself from the pack of indie singer/songwriters.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.carleytanchon.com orwww.myspace.com/carleytanchonLeave The Light On is available digitally via iTunes, or on hard copy directly from Carley Tanchon.