The Aurora Review

Fall 2004

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Lisa Richards
Fragments of Truth
Waterloo Records
Reviewed by Stormy Lewis

The title of Lisa Richards’Fragments of Truth is apropos. Rather than exploring the big picture, Richards aims for a mosaic in which every song shows a tiny moment of truth. This is a record of what singer/songwriter Amy Rigby (Koch Records) would call middlescensce -- the time of life between arrested development and hard won maturity. It is full of tales of the first apartment furnished with furniture you bought yourself and the first relationship that actually goes to the stage of talking about marriage. Fragments of Truth is a collection of brick-a-brack from a perfectly formed every-woman, like a Marion Keyes novel, perfect summertime accompaniment for fans that don’t want to shut down their brains.

The album opens quietly with the musing “Dream of Me’’ which finds our protagonist awakening to the fact that her lover doesn’t dream of her anymore. This serves as perfect introduction to Richards’ strength as a vocalist. She teases each note, using her gentle runs to evoke emotion rather than merely as vocal gymnastics. Although a startling Australian accent cuts through a sweet voice that sometimes threatens to be just a little too close to Shawn Colvin’s when Richards gives voice to her anger, on songs such as “More Than This’’ or “Don’t Put Me Down,’’ she slices like a razor. Richards’ voice, at times innocent and at times steely, is the perfect vehicle for her almost beat lyrics. 

Much like Paul Kelly, whom Richards calls an influence, her brilliance stems as much from new spins on old sayings. Between well worn observations like “It’s a cruel world/just ask me’’ to more offbeat musings like “I often think a joint would do me good,’’ Richards’ delivery is musically and emotionally syncopated, as if she is singing a poem.

Producer Barbara K takes a brilliant cast of musicians and creates a sonic wave that bolsters Richards’ vocals and enhances the record’s mood. Dark percussion by Jason McKenzie adds a touch of the seductive and the sinister to “Get Your Loving,’’ while a subtle chain rattle underscores the metaphor for release in “Butterfly.’’

Whether Richards’ character is offering advice or relating experience as she sorts truth from falsity, each song feels intimate and familiar. 

As the album closes its brilliance as a kind of concept album is realized: the travel log of a woman finding the truth about a regretful relationship and thereby finding herself in the process.

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