It's nearly 20 years since New York singer Suzanne Vega was queen of coffee house singers, when it seemed every earthy syllable and pithy tale of her most famous songs, Tom's Diner and Luka were etched into a generation's consciousness.
Now the elder stateswoman of folk-pop seems to
acknowledge her legacy with an album that is vintage Vega and something new. This is her seventh album after the relatively quiet release of Songs In Red And Gray in 2001. KT Tunstall and Vega's daughter Ruby Froom provide backing vocals on two tracks.
Meanwhile, Vega's New York history inspires much of this album, whether it's chatting to a graffiti artist on Zephyr and I, strolling down Ludlow Street's memory lane or painting a fairytale picture of her city on the romantic New York is A Woman. A string section complements her understated singing, as do Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo's shimmery guitars. But it's her lyrics that will save this from blending too much into the background.
She has never been an emotive storyteller, preferring to stand back and observe with a certain degree of nonchalance, letting her words do the talking rather than her voice, when sometimes you wish she'd just get stuck in.
Label: Blue Note/EMI
Verdict: Another polite, pleasant release from Manhattan's quiet thinker
