Christina Mimmocchi

Review by Frankie Armstrong in The Folk Rag (2012)

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This is a CD that really deserves close listening. The tunes vary from catchy, haunting to surprising and the arrangements are varied with wonderful musicianship but it's Christina's words that give the reason for this challenging and rewarding listen. 

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The themes and their treatment carry ambiguity and images and intriguing metaphors that tease the imagination. Her lyrics are poetic without being pretentious, leaving the listener room to interpret and ponder - in a way that I find a wonderful balance in shunning either the obscure or the banal. None of the songs are vague and abstract even if they leave you with haunting uncertainties. No two songs sound the same which is a great compliment in these days of homogenised sounds. 

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The instrumentation (a star-studded cast that includes Sandy Evans on saxes) always enhances the nature of the song. In Deep has a beautiful guitar and double bass accompaniment. Song for Tony, the track about the strange process of getting older (old enough to know better, young enough to forget you know better) has a jazzy Eastern European feel. None of the songs are corny or predictable which keeps me waiting to hear where the journey will take me to next. 

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Some are personal some have a more political or universal feel. The Wind Remains is inspired by a poem by Oodgeroo Nunuccal and has resonances for today though the massacre the poem speaks of took place last century. 

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Christinas voice is clear and her articulation excellent. My only quibble, and this is with most modern recordings, is that the voice could have been a fraction further forward in the mix. 

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I thoroughly recommend this first hearing of a fine songwriter with wonderful musicians and arrangements.