By Emily Senger
As a follow up to the Juno-award winning A Poodle in Paris and sequel to the children’s chart-topper A Duck in New York City, comes Sky with Nothing to Get in the Way, the long-awaited release from Canadian singer-songwriter Connie Kaldor.
Kaldor’s latest proves once and for all things do get in the way of sky, like clouds, birds, and the occasional airplane or helicopter. Just like things get in the way of a pleasing album. Some of these things occur when all the songs sound the same, or when the tempos are draggy and the vocals are traditional, in this case meaning dull rather than classic. Even when Kaldor attempts to step out of the singer-songwriter, folkie-with-a-guitar mould she still experiences the same pitfalls: The upbeat “Small Town Saturday Night” sounds very similar to “Never Run out of Love” a mere two tracks later.
While her two decades on the Canadian folk-music scene and a whopping 13 albums have proved her staying power, a quick listen to earlier recordings confirms the suspicion Kaldor has made few positive improvements to her music since her first album in 1981, and should stick with the Poodles and Ducks success of her children’s albums.