Jessica Shimberg's rapping puts Deborah Harry's to shame. Their performance of Angel is surefooted. On a scale of 1 to 10, it may be a 10, but I miss the songs on the last disc that went to 11. You won't read any superlatives in this review. The Mosaic Whispers' latest CD, Throw Your Pennies At Someone Else , is virtually free of extremes.
Pennies has a number of strengths.
The set list features plenty of daring choices dotted with college standards. The group is best at busy, rhythmic, late '90s-style arrangements, expertly meshing two Blondie numbers in Heart of Glass and reaching the album's peak on the beautifully rendered Windmills . The block sings with feeling on every song. A few soloists, especially Bob Amar and the last two Madonnas on Immaculate Collection , are a delight. That said, there's plenty of room for improvement.