With a paper-thin voice that's lighter than helium, Irish-born Nina Hynes sings her sprawling, bombastic songs with conviction and a fierce sense of desperation, and it's almost enough to carry them. Aside from the clever, shiny power pop of "This Magic Stuff," the songs on Creation almost drown in their own ambition. Hynes and guitarist/engineer/producer Joe Chester clearly know their way around a modern studio, but all the toys, tricks, ticks, and loops cannot make up for the fact that the riffs (when there are any) are ponderous and the dirgelike drones and odd chord structures tend to go on seemingly forever. While Hynes certainly has an effective instrument at her disposal, and a knowledgeable collaborator, she lacks the basic thing: the songs.
© John Duffy /TiVo