July 9–16, 1998

disc quicks|rock/pop

Jann Arden

Happy?

(A & M)

Canadian singer Jann Arden has no problem selling records in the Great White North—her second album, 1995's Living Under June, went six-times platinum—but she's still searching for that south-of-the-border breakthrough in the States. Happy?, Arden's new CD, might just do the trick. Arden's songwriting (she wrote every track but the campy remake of "To Sir With Love" that closes out the record) is intelligent, introspective and laden with enough hooks to secure a place for a track or two on modern-rock radio. The CD kicks off with the defiant lament "The Sound Of," which has Arden setting the record's emotionally ambivalent mood with the line "Swear to God, I'm not lonely/ Just alone." It's an evocative song, highlighted by her soaring vocals and Mark Goldenberg's sparkling 12-string guitar work. "Leave Me Now," Arden's plea to a lover whose lingering presence and breezy detachment is in sharp contrast to her emotional withdrawal symptoms, is achingly sad, while "Hanging By A Thread"—another breakup song—shimmers with a tangible sense of loss. Arden, who co-produced Happy? with Ed Cherney, has recruited a stellar cast of backing musicians for this outing, including drummer Kenny Aronoff and keyboardist C.J. Vanston, who add nice flourishes to the record's clean yet lush sound. But the best instrument on Happy? is undoubtedly Arden's lovely voice: she means business when she sings, maneuvering through some tough emotional territory with conviction you can hear.

-Nicole Pensiero