You know you are getting old when the singer songwriters that you encounter start looking young. Maz Totterdell is certainly young and she is certain;ly a singer siongwriter and her album “Sweep” is a tidy example of niceness with no hint of crudity to be found anywhere within its neatly defined boundaries.
There is little to this labum. Most of the songs are presented with little more than a guitar or keyboards and, back in the days, would have been classed as demos. I am perhaps being a touch unfair as there would no doubt have been budgetray limitations that would prevent any form of sonic experimentation. In compensation, Ms Totterdell does a nice – there’s that word again – line in sweet songs that sound all clean and shiny even if she does tend towards Kate Nash cuteness. In fact, “Delirious” sounds more like Kate Nash than Kate Nash does. “Lazy Day”, however, works a lot better with a lightness and delicacy that makes the songs float like a cloud in the summer sky while “Willow” suggests that some interest in English folk music of the past must be declared.
“Sweep” has something else in its favour – charm. Unusual enough to comment upon, the presence of said charm does suggest that the potential audience for this album will be a lot older than our Ms Totterdell.