This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I wrote back then (with some minor editing):
Edmonton teen Maren Ord has been touted as the Next Big Thing since the precocious chanteuse snagged a slot on Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair while still in high school. Now that she’s graduated, she’s parlayed that into a decent debut album on Canada’s Nettwerk Records, aka The Label That Sarah Built.
It’s the perfect home for the 19-year-old songbird, whose expressive, confident vocals and wise-beyond-her-years folk-pop balladry put her in line to be the next Sarah, Nelly or Chantal (especially on the soaring Swallow, which was co-produced by Kreviazuk mentor Chris Burke-Gaffney). She may be at the back of that line right now, but give her time — she’s still learning her craft. Let her get a couple of albums under her belt and she just might live up to her billing.
