Jane Siberry - No Borders Here

I bought this because of "Mimi On The Beach", which quotes Philip Glass both lyrically and musically, filtering those references through new-wave synths and eccentric 80s singer-songwriter stylings (which might initially sound incongruous, but isn't at all once you stop to think about it) and ending up with seven and a half minutes of tuneful, pulsating, resonant, widescreen pop genius ("...don't you have money i asked? 'of course i do'...the great leveller, or the great escape?"). Unsurprisingly, there's nothing else that approaches the greatness of "Mimi" on No Borders Here, but the album's quirks (well, it's basically all quirk...I'd say that we're talking weirder than Kate Bush here, or at least with a more unconventional sense of melody and pacing) and strangenesses ensure that it's never less than interesting, and there's a fair degree of songcraft apparent, albeit of an untraditional nature (also, a lot of the moves she makes seem to be references of one kind or another to other pieces of music, all of which I can almost but not quite place). I can't imagine myself listening to this record a great deal, but I'm happy that I have it nonetheless.