Laura Nyro's death evoked comparatively modest comment, as recent generations
had only peripheral exposure to the work of that gifted singer and songwriter. Katell
Keineg, who hails from Wales and Brittany and lives in Dublin, was discovered in a
New York City coffee shop and later sang backup for Iggy Pop. She's the daughter
of the poet Paol Keineg, but the way her voice caresses words, with such soaring
and exquisite passion, she might just as easily be Nyro's own flesh and blood.
Keineg, however, draws from a broader palette of sounds than did Nyro. The Celtic
lilt and swooping lines of songs like "Smile" may remind listeners of Sinead
O'Connor, while the next track, "Enzo," has the ethereal quality of a Philip Glass
soundtrack. "Ole Conquistador," has the tones of an Argentinean Bertolt Brecht,
perhaps as sung by Suzanne Vega, and "Leonor" is reminiscent of a young Joni
Mitchell cavorting in Paris. Yet such comparison are but hand-holds, shortcuts, and
crib notes to Keineg's strikingly rich second release. Hers is a remarkable voice, set
carefully and tastefully amid simple, yet sophisticated musical backgrounds. She is
able to cover enormous ground--from bagpipes to sampled rain, singing in English,
French, Spanish, whatever--without ever seeming a dilettante.
Much has been made of the new cocktail generation. Keineg is hardly a part of that
subculture, yet she effortlessly makes music that is the logical progression of those
lovely fifties and sixties album covers: rich, cosmopolitan, sensitive, and rewarding.