Leslie Mendelson – Swan Feathers

Leslie Mendelson sings the type of songs that are typically pumped through the speakers of retail outlets. They are geared for the general public’s background music: inoffensive, simply structured and slightly jazzy. Her debut album, Swan Feathers, is perfectly suited for a montage in one of those romantic comedies where all of the characters end up happy. In fact, if the tracks on Swan Feathers were rearranged the right way, they would make the perfect soundtrack for a Rob Reiner flick. They have all of the familiar themes: the joy of being in love, the feigned disinterest, the uncertainty, the new attraction, and of course, the unrealistic brand of “always and forever” love that indicates happily ever after. But, just like many of those films, Mendelson’s songs explore these themes in the most generic terms possible.

To her credit, Mendelson isn’t going for anything super deep here. Her Myspace claims that her music sounds like a “lost Motown track,” and on Swan Feathers she seems to be trying to capture the simplicity and feel good beats that people love about oldies-era music. Unfortunately, “Hit the Spot,” one of the singles from Swan Feathers, is the closest she comes to achieving it. The song plays like an homage to Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be,” and comes about halfway through the album. Unfortunately, after this point on the record, Swan Feathers has pretty much exhausted all that it has to offer.

Often times Mendelson’s vocals aren’t suited for the goals she is trying to achieve – though her voice is pleasant, calling to mind the likes of Feist. However, it’s more at home on the sweet, slower songs on the album such as “The Rest of London” or her slowed-down cover of The Ronettes’ hit “Be My Baby.” These tracks aren’t great, but they suit Mendelson, making the rest of Swan Feathers more palatable. But the music on songs like “Easy Love” calls for vocals a bit more soulful than Mendelson can offer.

While the aforementioned tracks are tolerable stepping stones through Swan Feathers, they don’t save the album from its uninteresting ideas and poo songwriting. Mendelson’s stylistic goals are admirable, but she ultimately fails to achieve them. Lyrics on tracks like “So Far, So Bad” and “I See Myself With You” are painfully easy, and the album as a whole plays as cheesy as opposed to the warm, nostalgic feeling Mendelson seems to have been going for.

Perhaps Swan Feathers will find a nice home on an easy listening station, but Mendelson’s album simply doesn’t probe deep enough to ask for much more. Listeners will have a better time with a copy of When Harry Met Sally.

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Tagged as: indie pop, New York

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