ON paper, at least, Jodie Marie should be one of the main contenders for great commercial success in 2012. The 20-year-old Welsh lass has a beautiful clear voice and cover girl looks.
Under her belt she has a contract with the rather posh Verve label, production overseen by Bernard Butler, and Ed Harcourt acts as a writing collaborator on the album’s title track, Mountain Echo.
In theory, Jodie Marie could be the next Duffy and perhaps give Adele a run for her money. How could the girl possibly go wrong? Well, the package doesn’t quite work. Her songs are pleasant with a charming Seventies, West Coast flavour, but they lack inspiration, fire and soul. Her lyrics are twee, if bordering on laughable... “dandelion dreams” indeed!
Being kind, you can hear echoes of the rather lovely and respected Nicolette Larson and Karla Bonoff. However, Larson and Bonoff sadly failed to find a substantial audience, and you suspect the same fate will befall Miss Jodie Marie.
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