Jane Siberry
If you're on a bland musical diet, steer clear of this album. It has no "baby-sexy lady" pop shlock. Siberry, a Toronto singer-songwriter, demands more of an audience than passive immersion. Her sprightly, intelligent compositions and winsome voice force you to sit up, listen carefully and even think. Many folk-pop singers, such as Phil Ochs and Harry Chapin, have been thinly disguised storytellers. But Siberry is more like Laurie Anderson; she eschews a linear narrative for bold, imaginative leaps. Her melodies serve as stark settings for her articulate, poetic lyrics. Waitress, for instance, is the story of a woman who takes her job too seriously. The images in Mimi on the Beach soar above the initial Club Med setting like free-floating figures. For the discriminating listener not dismayed by its artiness, No Borders Here is an intriguing alternative. (Open Air/Windham Hill)
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