Ophelia

After her departure from 10,000 Maniacs, Merchant declared her artistic independence with the enormously popular TIGERLILY, an album not entirely dissimilar in style to her former group. Her highly anticipated followup mines a somewhat more introspective vein, as Merchant pursues her muse at length (many cuts hover around the five minute mark). The bulk of the tunes here are ballads adorned by piano, organ and strings, often achieving an almost ecclesiastical tone, as on the title cut, an exploration of a mythical woman who appears in many guises throughout history. Even relatively upbeat tunes like "Kind & Generous" and "Break Your Heart" retain the delicacy, sweetness and luxurious feel that have become Merchant's trademarks. The aforementioned spiritual element resurfaces in the bible-conscious lyrics of "Thick As Thieves" and the almost Carter Family-ish country spiritual "When They Ring The Golden Bells," a Merchant original that sounds like it could have been written 100 years ago. Presumably, that's just the kind of timelessness Merchant is aiming for on OPHELIA.