Zoe Lewis - Nameless

While most young woman are contemplating a night on the town Zoe Lewis was recording her second album in her bedroom with the help of her multi talented father.
Some may consider that as a bit of a waste of time for a young woman, but when the alternative is to plaster on the slap, pass around a bottle of Lambrini between mates, and then end the night tearfully picking at laddered tights from the gutter while proclaiming in a howl that no one loves you, then it begins to sound like a much better option than what currently passes for a good night out locally.
The results are really what matters though and this certainly does not sound like a DIY bedroom effort.
Instead it sounds as accomplished as anything that you would hear coming from a major recording studio.
The original material covers a light punk/rock chick angle with some country tinges. In other words a bit more than most of the current chanteuse would consider tackling.
The attitude is probably best summed up on the only cover song on the album. A very nuanced take on Toyahs “It's a Mystery” that by-passes all the clichéd histrionics of the original and delivers a track that is far more subtle and ultimately more rewarding.
It's however not the highlight of the album.
In fact it doesn't come close to it as there's a whole swath of tracks that are better.
There's a song called Nothing to Lose that stands out as the glittering prize for the listener. It's a track that features a guitar lead that wouldn't sound out of place on a classics of rock album and a vocal that ranges from the powerful to the subtle dependent on what emotion is being channelled.
It a very worthy return to the fray after her début and here's hoping it's not the last we hear from her.