Disco de The Wreckers: “Stand Still, Look Pretty [Bonus Track]”

Throwing away the chains of pop music stardom, and basking in her new motherhood, singer Michelle Branch has formed a new band with friend and Kansas City native Jessica Harp to write and perform modern country music with a rock and roll touch. Performing with heart and energy, The Wreckers offer the pleasing mixture of country and pop that has become a staple of today's Nashville, delivering several sure singles, several stand out tracks, with some enjoyable tasting filler in between.

The songs feel comfortable and familiar, whether its due to some similarities with Branch's earlier work or just their ability to sound a lot like the Dixie Chicks. But even the filler tastes pretty good. The first single Leave the pieces is a pure modern country-pop song, full of tight vocal harmonies and with violins and banjos providing flourishes to the guitar heavy arrangement. Fans of tv show One Tree Hill will remember The Good Kind, a more plaintive and emotional song with Jessica and Michelle trading lines in their pleasant voices; Sometimes it's hard to tell where Michelle's voice begins and Jessica's ends. Tennessee, another potentially huge single, has a definite Faith Hill feel to it, with a soaring chorus and is one of the best tracks on the album. My Oh My and Crazy People are more traditional country songs, driven by banjos and having a bluegrass flavor that makes for a highly addictive combination. The powerfully gentle title track Stand Still Look Pretty and the soft track Rain are more somber and reserved and musically more diverse, and fit in perfectly with the overall tenor of the record.

Spending the summer on tour with Rascal Flatts seems appropriate for The Wreckers, since they deliver the same type of easily digestible modern country that sounds darn good on the radio. It's not the most adventurous songwriting in the world, and it probably won't win praise with critics because of its commercial viability, but its a heck of a lot of fun nonetheless. If you enjoy Dixie Chicks, Rascal Flatts, or Michelle Branch's previous work, you will enjoy this album. The writing is solid, the music is as slickly produced as you would expect from a bevy of Nashville producers and Jessica and Michelle's friendship makes for some beautiful music. This version is the limited edition that contains a short DVD and an acoustic version of the great song Tennessee. Either album will suit you fine, but this version is more for the hard core fan. Recommended.

A.G. Corwin

St.Louis, MO

I'm a big fan of all of Michelle Branch's pop/rock solo albums. I still want another solo album from Michelle, but I can't complain at all about Stand Still, Look Pretty. Largely produced by John Leventhal, the production is polished, but not slick enough to overpower the good musicianship going on here. Michelle and Jessica Harp harmonize very well because of their similar voices. Sometimes it's difficult to tell them apart. The album is quite serious, but ends up with the humorous "Crazy People." Without that song to lighten things up, I would have reduced the CD's rating a bit. Finally, a little of Michelle's pop and folk styles do come through on songs like the title track and "Rain." Great job, Michelle and Jessica!

I always loved Michelle Branch. Then I heard about Jessica Harp and fell in love with her. One thing I defintly dont love is Country Music. I was weary when i heard this was indeed a country album but once i heard the first track i fell in love again. Over all all of the songs are very well written and the duet has beutiful voices that just makes you feel bad in their break up songs and feel good in their happy songs. I definitly recoment this Album if your a fan of Michell or Jessica. Even if you dont like the Country elements of the Album, youll definitly look past it and fall just love it.

Overall this is a good album. I found the mood of the album leaning toward depressing and wonder how two such beautiful young women could have had that many hard knocks. However, they sing about them very convincingly. Although some songs have a Dixie Chick flavor and one had a Judds feel to it, I wouldn't call this a Country album. Maybe it would fit better into what I'm hearing called today Alt Country. A couple could probably cross into the Adult Contemporary area, just because of the category neutrality of the song. It's a shame AC hasn't given them a spin as they did with Keith Urban or Rascal Flats. The playing and vocals on the album are good which should find most listeners happy with the album. This is the first album I've owned featuring Michelle Branch so I'm not able to draw any comparisons to any of her earlier stuff. I heard Track 1 on a Country station and it immediately caught my ear as an outstanding song and after listening to samples decided to buy it. Track 2 actually became my favorite and I can't believe I haven't heard this on the radio somewhere. The album has many strong tracks and worthy of a spot in your collection.

Like most people, I have albums that have a couple of songs that I like, one or two that I dislike and a few that are just ok. This is one of those rare albums where all of the songs are great! The Wreckers have nailed it with every song and I thank them for it. This should be an award winning album.