antiMusic.com: Louise Aubrie - Time Honoured Alibi

Louise Aubrie - Time Honoured Alibi

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If you're a Morrissey fan, this new Louise Aubrie album should get your immediate and close attention. That's because Boz Boorer (Morrissey's guitarist, co-writer and musical right-hand man) produced it. In the whole Smiths-female-vocalist-association realm, Aubrie is much closer to the toughened chick style of Kirsty MacColl (see also her duet with The Pogues on "Fairytale of New York") than, say, the pop princess Sandie Shaw. This 8-song collection finds Aubrie singing with plenty of tomboy spunk.

At first, the opening song, "Where Are You" appears to be a knock against a guy that's let her down. However, when Aubrie finds herself admitting that she's praying to a god she doesn't even know she believes in, the line, "Where are you on the biggest ever night of my life?" takes on a whole new meaning. Is she actually wondering why this supposed higher power (at least that's how she seems to view him) has abandoned her?

Musically, this is very much a guitar-centric album. One imagines its Boorer that plays these rocking parts, just the way he's done them for Morrissey so many years. The best songs on the album are the ones where Aubrie's pop instincts come out, such as "Keep It Coming," which features a melodic keyboard part and a handclap rhythm section that brings to mind Wall of Sound 60s girl pop.

Aubrie reveals an entirely different side of her musical personality during "Circuit," which is built upon a strummed acoustic guitar and subdued electric guitar coloring. It ends with Aubrie repeating, "I'll always believe in love," again and again. It's almost as though she's repeating the phrase, like a mantra, in attempt to convince herself these words are true. Aubrie closes with another quiet one in "Gold," which has a finger picked guitar part that has a bit of a jazz vibe to it. Aubrie sings it with a gentle, pretty voice and shows what a fine, controlled singer she is.

The track "In Honour" opens with a jangle rock guitar part, which has the most Smiths-y vibe of all these recordings. It would have been nice to hear more songs like this one. Then again, it would probably make her seem a little like a Smiths clone, rather than an individual, so maybe it's a good thing she kept things just the way they are.

Aubrie's Time Honoured Alibi is lacking lyrics that stand out and really stop listeners in their tracks, the way many Morrissey songs impact us. Granted, few songwriters have such an immediate impact as he. However, Aubrie's words can be a little pedestrian. She's a passionate vocalist; she just doesn't have a whole lot of original thoughts to sing. It's probably unfair to compare Aubrie to Morrissey. However, since there is a strong Morrissey connection -- with Boorer's involvement -- one thing Morrissey does so well is also incorporate humor in with his many times deadly serious lyrics. Nothing is the wee bit witty or humorous in Aubrie's writing. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, goes another famous song, and a little levity might have given Aubrie's dramatic songs a little more balance.

Time Honoured Alibi makes Louise Aubrie an artist worth further investigation and consideration. Yet one is left with the lingering feeling that this album is pretty good, when it maybe could have been pretty great, instead.