It wasn’t all that long ago that successful American female songwriters were a rarity – when Ann Ronell scored a hit with “Willow Weep for Me” in 1932, she broke a barrier that still remained mostly untested at the dawn of the rock era – but that certainly isn’t the case in the 21st century; by the time Ronell passed away in the early ‘90s, the novelty of a woman writing her own music had long since worn off, and these days, we’ve got a veritable glut of singer/songwriters offering the female perspective. All of which is sort of a shame for Anya Singleton, really – after all, if she weren’t one of a crowded pack, her debut full-length, The Other Side, probably wouldn’t sound so tired. Singleton has a great set of pipes, a solid band, and a terrific producer in Rob Arthur, but these 11 songs – most of them falling squarely into the “tastefully mid-tempo” sweet spot favored by baristas and soundtrack supervisors – don’t do a whole lot to distinguish her from any one of the two or three dozen other performers you can find plying their wares in any random bar or club on any given night of the week. The best thing about the album is undeniably her voice – from here on out, she’d do well to either attend some songwriting seminars or just stick to interpreting other people’s material. (Hybrid Music Productions 2008)
