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Pene Kingsford: Flowers and Frolic

Frolic
Singer, guitarist and songwriter Pene Kingsford used to be part of Auckland act Freudian Slips and, since their demise, has sporadically released material. This is her second solo album, recorded and produced in various lounges in Northcote, Herne Bay and Ohoka, with help from artists including Karen Hunter (guitars, backing vocals and percussion), Aaron Coddel (bass), Iain Brandram-Adams (piano, cello) and Alaistair Deverick (drums). Kingsford has written an album that is diverse in style, ranging from easy listening (I Don’t Smoke), to confessional ballad (Couldn’t Wait), to jazz (Anticipation) to rap with Lily. While appreciating Kingsford’s talent, such diversity is also a downfall. The songs don’t connect, she sounds oddly like Madonna on a couple of tracks, there is a stylistic mis-step with rap and hip hop inspired beats and the production sounds a little dated. The songs that do work - bluesy, elegant Anticipation, and the mature pop song The Tale of the Blessed Two (a finalist in the 2008 American Love Song Competition) are few and far between. A shame as Kingsford has good songs, but due to the mismatched production they don’t live up to their full potential.

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