Skintight

Personnel: Liv Kristine (vocals); Thorsten Bauer (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, keyboards); Seven Antonopoulos (drums, percussion); Alexander Krull (programming, sampler).
Audio Mixer: Alexander Krull.
Recording information: Mastersound Studio, Steinheim, Germany.
Photographer: Stefan Heilemann.
Leaves' Eyes frontwoman Liv Kristine abandons the goth folk-metal of that band on her fourth solo album, making a thoroughly contemporary pop/rock disc that dabbles in post-punk/New Order-ish groove on its opening title track, shifts to acoustic-based power balladry on "Twofold" and "Love in Grey," but proves that she can rock out female singer/songwriter style on "Train to Somewhere." Those four tracks pretty much sum up the musical and expressive range of Skintight. It's a good pop/rock record, but it definitely lacks the raw power of more visceral performers like Pat Benatar or even P!nk; Kristine's high, crystal-clear voice is just naturally suited to more ethereal material. When she tries to go Euro-dance on "Boy at the Window," that doesn't quite work, either, as she hasn't got the giddiness and willingness to abandon herself to the beat that Kylie Minogue manifests so effortlessly. There are no bad songs here; Kristine is a very good singer, but her Sarah McLachlan-esque delivery doesn't match well with any of the material besides the opening track and the acoustic songs. Had she made an album with 12 versions of "Skintight," or a pure acoustic folk-rock singer/songwriter disc, she'd have had better results than she achieves on this too-scattershot record. Fans of Leaves' Eyes will probably find something to like here, but listeners unfamiliar with her back catalog will be mostly unmoved. ~ Phil Freeman