Jane Siberry

By Alan Cho

Oh yes, that’s why I don’t go to church anymore, because God is boring. Thank you Jane Siberry for releasing Shushan the Palace to remind us of that fact with nine tracks celebrating the complete banality of our Lord. Hallelujah!

Not that she didn’t give it the old Christian “can do,” but what should be sweeping and majestic comes off flat and puny. Siberry’s voice seems more comfortable with a guitar and a mic in a coffee shop than trying to belt out classical hymns. The timid instrumentation doesn’t help, unsatisfying and too cautious in not drowning out Siberry’s small voice. The arrangements are like something from a junior high school band class.

Shushan the Palace won’t entice anybody into the world of Christian gospel music, only bland enough to get you to stop sinning long enough to press eject on your CD player. Siberry probably better off sticking to her usual coffeehouse-friendly pop music.

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