Tracy Shedd comes off as a more riveting singer on her fourth album than on previous ones, and it seems as much about the arrangements and production as about her singing, there being more moments in the songs where she really lets go. The smoke references in the title fit the tone, which is anxious and moody, both created by careful placement of voice and instruments, like lingering guitars that eventually rush forward dramatically. When that happens the album feels very ‘90s college radio, though Shedd’s presence in the album overall is fresher, more in the moment. Loneliness, or at least the absence of someone, is a big theme, though never is there wallowing. After all, the first song’s chorus is, “it’s never too late to fight for what you want.” Still, the last lyric on the LP, sung with noisy guitars hovering, is, “it’s not home without you here.”
Dave Heaton has been writing about music on a regular basis since 1993, first for college newspapers and DIY fanzines and now mostly on the Internet. In 2000, the same year he started writing for PopMatters, he founded the online arts magazine ErasingClouds.com, for which he is still the editor and main writer. He also writes music reviews for the print magazine The Big Takeover and has a blog column on their website, BigTakeover.com. He has a Bachelors degree in Journalism (1996) and a Masters degree in English (1999), both from Truman State University, in the underrated town of Kirksville, Missouri, Though he does enough music-listening and writing for it to be a full-time job, it is not one. He has held a series of editing, writing and business communications positions at small and large companies in Kansas, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He currently lives in Kansas City.
Tracy Shedd - Whatever It Takes
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