Description
Signed to Hut/Virgin on the strength of a handful of songs presented acapella and delivered by post, Stephanie’s debut album features some of the very songs that made such a huge impression on those who first heard her fledgling demo tape.
Recorded and produced in Dublin by Ian Stanley 2003
1. That Girl
2. Stay Here Close To Me
3. Inappropriate
4. When You Were Here
5. Monday Morning
6. Garden Of Dreams
7. Somebody Else’s Girl
8. Heavy Boots
9. Never In A Million Years
10. Blank White Sheet
11. Bird of Prey
PJ Ashwell (verified owner) –
I heard the first single from this album("Inappropriate") a few months ago and decided to wait for the album. Well it was certainly worth it. The songs here you can actually connect with and they make you think. The main theme behind the songs is love and not just the good stuff (who hasn’t been there?). One not to be missed.
Mr S Gray (verified owner) –
Its quite common now after a debut single as good as ‘inappropriate’ is released that the album that follows is full of forgetable fillers but not here. There’s some wonderful tracks on this album from the upbeat ‘Garden of dreams’ to the hypnotic ‘Blank White Sheet.’ Its a beautiful album thats flows majestically from one track to the next. Only 10 tracks but you’ll put it on repeat anyway, buy it and enjoy it!
Joy Watson (verified owner) –
The album opens with the words "Sitting in a long dark dress wearing coloured tights …" If "That Girl", the opening track, isn’t a girlie song then I don’t know what is. Stephanie Kirkham sounds like someone else more famous that you like but can’t quite place. If you like Katie Melua and gently emotional lyrics, then you will like this. The album has great variety in terms of pace and energy, but is always gentle, softly romantic and ideal for anyone, certainly not only females, to play during a quiet night in to their prospective partner after a candlelit dinner. Check out "Inappropriate" (track 3): I’ve been there myself!
Mr H Vine Voice (verified owner) –
Frankly, she is too perfect for her own good, gorgeous, sings like an angel, writes all her own material. Damn you to hell. But, tragically, I fell compelled to laud her endlessly.
There’s a freshness about the ingenue approach of a girl singing songs from the heart without the endless of intrusion of stuffy production or inappropriate beats (Hi Sharleen). And when the voice is rich, perfection and the songs are sweet, as they are here, you just feel the sins of the day wash away.
There’s already been one single (‘Inappropriate’) and another due later, ‘Garden Of Dreams’ (out 13th October) but virtually every song here could and should be a hit. For me, the two moments of pure pleasure arrive with "Stay Here Close To Me" and "When You Were Here". 10 songs, 40 minutes, bliss. The way it’s supposed to be. Positively divine.
Donald davies (verified owner) –
Wonderful recording, well-packaged, ultra quick service, recommended. Feb 2016
sweat neat (verified owner) –
Stephanie Kirkham has such a lyrical and beautiful voice, and the songs in this cd are lovely. I just love this cd and listen it often.
Big Jules (verified owner) –
A friend introduced me to this album a few weeks ago, and finally I got round to buying it myself. I’m a big fan of female vocalists, especially those with a unique voice or something a bit different to say; a quick trawl through my music shelves reveals everyone from the likes of the more well-known such as Annie Lennox, Alison Moyet and Suzanne Vega, through to the less obvious / commercial Beth Orton, Fiona Apple, the gorgeous and hugely talented Thea Gilmore, Nina Gordon, Nerina Pallot, and the simply wonderful Imogen Heap. In Stephanie Kirkham I’ve just found another all-time favourite artiste to add to that list.
Reminding me of a sort-of cross between Lisa Loeb and the amazing Alice Martineau (if you haven’t bought her album Daydreams yet, what are you waiting for?), Stephanie puts her vocals to perfect use on all 10 songs on this CD. At times soothing and caressing, at others innocent-sounding, almost childlike, it’s soooo easy to fall in love with her.
Every track is a gem, from the boppy, upbeat "Garden of Dreams" to the dreamy sounds and harshly-dismissive lyrics of the following track "Somebody Else’s Girl", one of my personal favourites. For me however, the single "Inappropriate" is an absolute stand-out example of songwriting and perfect execution. I just CANNOT get this song out of my head. Checking the play count for this album in iTunes, the other 9 tracks show 5 plays each. "Inappropriate" – 28 plays! And that’s in the last 24 hours since the CD dropped through my letterbox…. I hummed it all the way through my lunch break, much to the annoyance of my colleagues who couldn’t hear the music in my head!
Do yourselves a favour and buy this album, it’s worth every penny