At once sweetly compelling and creepily obsessive, the smartly-observed love songs on Signe Miranda’s solo debut rip apart the contradictory and heartbreaking “push-pull” dynamic of most modern relationships. When she sings, “Let me be the one you want/’Cos I don’t want you to leave me alone” on Solar Eclipse, it speaks to those for whom loneliness is the big, scary monster under the bed. If you’re thinking about breaking up an intense, long-term relationship, listening to this album should be your first step. Depending on your perspective, it will either scare you back into your warm cocoon, fearful of dying alone, or cause you to run far away, fearful of being smothered by clingy neediness. Either way, you’ll feel unsure for the rest of your life. (Karyn Bonham)
CD, Concrete City Records, PO Box 6069, Station A, Toronto, ON, M5W 1P5