REVIEW: Laura Joy - Six Flights

Laura Joy – Six Flights
2008 Laura Joy

It is not often that I come across a CD like this one. Six Flights is the harbinger of what should be a long and lauded career. Laura Joy weaves magic with her guitar strings and her voice. Six Flights sees Laura Joy raise her game, displaying a voice and songwriting acumen that calls to mind the likes of Ani DiFranco and Joni Mitchell. Laura Joy displays a maturity in her songwriting that many artists achieve after 10 or 15 years of recording. Keep in mind that this is Ms. Joy’s 2nd album, and you’ll have an idea of what might be to come.

In theory it should be easier to tell you which songs here I enjoyed less than the others, except that I can’t find one. “Six Flights” and “Plan” are near masterpieces, and “Courting Disaster” will leave you trying to figure out which of your past relationships she somehow knew about. “Ride Home”, similarly, will touch upon your memories. This is the secret of Laura Joy’s success: She has an ability to tell stories in her songs that are clearly about her own life, but they could be about a time or event in your own life as well. This is a skill that most songwriters strive for all their lives, but for Laura Joy it appears to be a natural gift.

“Six Flights” is a desert island disc. This is the sort of CD you can’t afford not to own. Don’t be surprised if ten or fifteen years from now, rather than hearing people describe who Laura Joy sounds like, you instead hear new artists being said to sound like Laura Joy.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Laura Joy at www.myspace.com/LauraJoymusic or www.laurajoymusic.com. You can purchase Six Flights at www.cdbaby.com/laurajoy2. And don’t forget to check out her self-titled debut at www.cdbaby.com/laurajoy.