Kate Voegele Albums (2)
'A Fine Mess'
Release Date 5/18/2009
Tracks 9
Label Myspace/Interscope
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
"I ain't got no sob story to write," Kate Voegele admits during A Fine Mess, a seasoned album that owes much of its success to One Tree Hill. After joining the show's cast in 2008, Voegele tackled the recurring role of Mia Catalano -- essentially a televised, aliased version of herself -- and used the opportunity to promote her own songs, many of which were woven into the episodes' plotlines. It was an invaluable introduction to an established TV audience, one whose affinity for photogenic actors and heartbroken drama neatly dovetailed with Voegele's music. Sales of her album appropriately spiked, and Voegele returned to the drawing board soon after, looking to strike while the iron was hot. Released in May 2009, A Fine Mess proves to be a fairly veteran production, performed with radio-minded gusto by the songwriter herself and, once again, promoted by a semi-biographical storyline on One Tree Hill. Voegele doesn't stretch her boundaries on these nine songs -- despite posing with an acoustic guitar in the album's liner notes, she only strums it during "Manhattan from the Sky" -- but she does write the material herself, helming the bulk of the tracks on her own and partnering with outsiders on two numbers. Despite those two collaborations, Voegele's own songs are the strongest ones here, particularly the alternative rocker "99 Times" and the breezy, Nashville-influenced "Talkin' Smooth." Her voice is similarly competent, perhaps a bit commonplace in its soulful inflections but agreeable nonetheless, and producer Mike Elizondo highlights the melodies with tight, tasteful arrangements. The only hang-up, then, is the fact that A Fine Mess isn't messy at all; rather, it wields the same combination of saucy strut and well-scrubbed pop/rock that we've heard on previous albums by Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton, and the like. That's good company for most aspiring songwriters, of course, but Voegele may need another few albums to distinguish herself from her predecessors. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The first artist signed in 2006 to MySpace Records in association with Interscope, the edgy and rockin' (yet charming and sensitive) Cleveland-bred singer/songwriter Kate Voegele had the pleasure of actually meeting famous MySpace president "Tom" Anderson in the flesh. As if that weren't great conversation piece enough, the label began its grassroots campaign for her stirringly melodic, edgy, and mostly electric guitar-driven debut with reference to some all-star associations that happened in her teens. At age 16 in 2003, Voegele opened for John Mayer and Counting Crows, which led to other opening gigs for Dave Matthews, the Wreckers, and John Mellencamp, as well as performances at two Farm Aid concerts. She also placed songs from her two indie EPs on a handful of TV shows. Two of her full-length debut's most engaging, pure pop/rock cuts, "Only Fooling Myself" and the bluesy, dark-chorded Fiona Apple-like "I Won't Disagree," won major songwriting contest awards; the latter took first place over 4,000 entries in the New York Songwriter's Circle, winning Pop Song of the Year. Those accolades and the compelling power of her hard-hitting vocals and crisp writing style should have been enough to launch her to stardom, but it actually took a recurring life-imitates-art role as an up-and-coming songwriter on The CW Television Network's hit series One Tree Hill in early 2008 to launch her to national attention. The minute she began her multi-episode run -- which included her character's performance of some of this disc's key material, from "Only Fooling Myself" to the beautiful and emotionally searing piano-and-vocal closer "Kindly Unspoken" -- MySpace re-released the disc and suddenly she had a major indie hit on her hands. The album quickly hit number four on the iTunes album chart and hit the Top Ten on Billboard's Independent and Digital Albums chart. Her slow build via the MySpace page quickly became a rocket to the pop music moon as she racked up more than a million extra song plays. The coolest part of the Voegele experience is the perfect balance of vibe she offers, from the tribally percussive, jangling joy of "One Way or Another" and rockin' sizzle of "Might Have Been" to the lighter retro-pop soul sexiness of "Top of the World" and the gentle acoustic soul of the previously mentioned "Kindly Unspoken." All of this by age 22, yet it was only the beginning for an artist with the perfect package -- looks, intelligence, acoustic and electric guitar chops, a distinctive voice you can't forget, and -- lest we forget -- the most exciting and compelling indie disc of 2008. With Kelly Clarkson's star slightly on the wane, Voegele was primed to jump into the fray on her way to the top of the female rock world -- helped by the mysterious "Tom" and not the praise of Simon Cowell. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
