This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Denise James just wasn’t made for these times.
The pop chanteuse has a voice that comes straight from another era — a dulcet, rich sound that somehow recalls both the girlish energy of Petula Clark and the world-weary melancholy of Nico. With that kind of idiosyncratic style, she might be the last person you’d expect to be part of the Detroit underground music scene. But on her second album It’s Not Enough To Love, James enlists members of Outrageous Cherry, The Dirtbombs, The Witches and other retro-minded acts. Even more impressive, she entices them to unplug their distortion pedals, turn off the Echoplex and back her heartfelt melodies with jangly Byrdsian folk-rock, bouncy Britpop and gently strummy balladry. And no wonder they love her; even if she didn’t write her own material, it’s about time we heard a singer who could cover Downtown and Femme Fatale in the same set.
