Review: Christine Evans – Push

A strong, impressive voice and excellent songwriting skills are what Christine Evans has and each one of these wealthy perks propels her sophomore album, Push. This 16-year-old singer/songwriter successfully broke through the indie barrier in her native Canada with her debut album Take Me Home in 2004 with help from 11-time number one hit producer Tom Hall.

Differing from fellow Canadian artist Avril Lavigne, Evans doesn’t necessarily produce catchy, throw away pop songs geared for massive radio play, as Lavigne’s hits have done in the past. This isn’t to say, however, that several of her songs do not stand out as very radio friendly cuts which show off the appealing choruses while still preserving the songwriting that she’s known for.

Many of Evans’ songs focus on the deeper, more emotional issues of loneliness, lost love, and perseverance with the album’s title track, “Push,”; being one of the only ones which could be considered upbeat but still focusing on a troubled relationship. On “Believe“; she sings “I cant’ hide, I can’t weep / I can’t make you be with me / I could fight, but could I win / I can’t make your heart give in”;.

The general theme of the songs transfer from her first release but the album doesn’t go down the emo track of self loathing. It is surprising, however, to see such a serious album from such a young artist in a world of pop princesses cranking out hit after hit while simultaneously attempting to land on every tabloid ever written.

In the two years since the release of Take Me Home Christine and her voice seem to have matured greatly with a slightly different sound but much more commanding over the already impressive debut and accompanying instrumentation backing her up.

The only thing inhibiting Christine is a more broad commercial release of her work in America where her CDs go for upwards of $30 online at popular sites like Amazon.com due to their import status. However, discs can be had for more reasonable prices at www.cdbaby.com, www.futureshop.ca, and directly through www.christine-evans.com. Regardless of business matters, those looking for solid songwriting and a genuine musical act need not look any further, regardless of the country.