Christine Collister has long been lauded as a gifted song interpreter. But she's been slowly growing all the time, and with this release there's a huge blooming of confidence as an artist. She takes chances on songs that don't have instant appeal and need several plays to be etched into the brain, such as "Brittle Man," which she co-wrote. It's the record of a mature woman, who's as happy with the spare guitar backing of "Hymn to Grace" (a cover of the song by
Aztec Camera's
Roddy Frame) as she is with the lush "Acts of Kindness." She's strong now, seemingly finally convinced by all the praise of her abilities and able to push forward, as she does on "Ashlands," where her cool velvet voice embraces the new. For a long time she's been threatening to become a major artist -- and with Into the Light, it's finally happened. ~ Chris Nickson