If only life were as delicate a thing as Lisa Cerbone’s voice but, alas, it is not. However, as something of a consolation, there are nine examples of delicacy personified to be found in her album “Nowhere I Have Ever Been”.
The way of the sensitive singer songwriter is one of introspection and, in that respect, Lisa Cerbone stays close to the rules in the acoustic playbook. Many of the songs have, therefore, little more than the acoustic guitar as accompaniment to her voice and, when more is added to her sonic recipe, it is more for emotional support than structural strength. Her words, perhaps unsurprisingly, are a mix of poetry and contemplation with the very fragility by which these words are presented turning her stories into something akin to an enchantment cast into the ether by a princess who has seen both dark and light.
Self-reflection, sentimentality and an underlying seriousness are part and parcel of any self-respecting singer songwriter and “Nowhere I Have Ever Been” has all that yet Lisa Cerbone, whilst never straying far from listener expectations, has added a mystical element that makes her particular brand of melancholy fuelled poetry into something rather enchanting.
The album is available from Bandcamp.