Kasey Chambers - Carnival

Thanks to a zealous co-attendee (Kevin), I already have tix to one of the Kasey gigs in November, so I thought it behooved me to give her newie a listen asap. A while on, it hasn't left much of an impression. The reviewers seem really hung up on Carnival being a move away from the 'country' direction towards more of a pop-rock sound, but I'm not convinced - insofar as there's a shift evident, it's not a large one and very much a natural continuation from where Chambers has been before. For me, what's missing from this album is any properly memorable songs, which none of her previous records have lacked for - the songs are still unmistakably Kasey, both in the writing and in the performance, but it's all mid-level Kasey and, at least as yet, doesn't sparkle like her earlier work.