O Seasons O Castles
On her debut album, "O Seasons O Castles," Katell Keineg largely abandons her Celtic roots for a generic art folk rock which substitutes enigmatic abstractions, glacial harmonic progressions and whispery moaning for the hard work of real songwriting and real singing. The album takes its title from an Arthur Rimbaud poem, but instead of Rimbaud's vivid, precise imagery, Keineg offers up vague lyrics. Instead of coming up with clear-cut, memorable melodies, Keineg, who wrote all but one of the 14 songs, is content to slide her voice around common chord changes. Here and there, she gives brief glimpses of what may well be a powerful, rich voice, but for most of the album, she sings at half strength in a breathy mumble perhaps meant to suggest mystery and intimacy. In the end, "O Seasons O Castles" is all smoke and no fire.--Geoffrey Himes