Blue Planet
Welsh warbler Donna Lewis is a curious animal indeed. Given her proficiency with synth keyboards and her unabashed love for flowery textures, she appears to be wandering into faux-Kate Bush territory, her thoughts floating in the stars. But Lewis has a quirk that always brings her back down to earth: she's a sucker for a good hook. Remember her singsong 1996 hit "I Love You Always Forever"? This "thinking man's pop" schematic is echoed several times over on her sophomore album. "Harvest Moon" functions on such a childishly simple level, it almost feels like a nursery rhyme. "Falling," its rhythms bounding like Jell-O, plugs into a sunshiny '60s optimism that feels honest, not arch. And the minimal piano-set-to-metronome-beat "I Could Be the One" is kept aloft by Lewis's charmingly breathy vocals. She occasionally overreaches, as on the quasi-industrial "Beauty and Wonder" (try as she might, this lady just can't sound threatening) and the funned-up "Love Him." But Lewis has her ABBA/Kate niche all staked out and finely feathered, so it's easy to forgive her for a couple of indiscretions.--Tom Lanham