CD Review: Arden Kaywin, “The Elephant in the Room”

Upon listening to the opening track from Arden Kaywin‘s sophomore release “The Elephant in the Room” – “Let it Go” – I was oddly reminded of Tori Amos’ “Leather”. It even started off in the same semi-staccato manner, the redundant yet spell-inducing plucking, the subtlety, hell, in part even with the same lyrics… “Look, I’m standing naked [etc.]“. At first I thought, “how dare she? It’s bad enough to use the same lyrics, the same style – just, how dare she”. After the first stanza, however, I knew I had jumped to too far a conclusion. Kaywin had me right where she wanted – clinging onto the edge of a rocky cliff with fingernails bleeding – profusely, apologetically.

“The Elephant in the Room”‘ creates a playful, imaginative, dreamy world in which Kaywin’s stories are told with a bizarre charm characteristic of artists such as Amos, Alanis Morissette, Rufus Wainwright, and Sarah McLachlan. Her tracks race from one end of the room to the other – via flirty and saucy single-girl anthems (“Lights Out”, “Girl in a Man’s World”), and poignant and beautiful-in-despondency refrains (“The Last Time”) – while consisting of a sound that is all-inclusive, never gender-specific in approach. Smuggling  gems beneath a brilliant cover of poplicious hooks and cute promo shots is a clever move, accommodating of listeners who appreciate a glittery exterior while appealing to those who live and breathe for singer/songwriter versatility.

“The Elephant in the Room”  is simply fun, however complex in essence. I suppose you could even liken it to a brand new penny. Sure, there are a million others out there – but at the moment, they’ll never be as shiny as the one within your grasp.

Recommended tracks: “”Boys and Girls”, “Grand Soiree”, “Sleepwalking”

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