Shona Laing
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Shona (TriStar)
(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
New Zealand songstress Shona Laing’s distinctive voice can hit an eerie pitch as she pokes around familiar themes: greed (“Kickback”), the apocalypse (“The Man With the Wild Name”) and imperialism (“American Friend”). Her previous domestic release, “New on Earth,” established her as a solid eco-warrior. She mellows on “Shona,” concentrating on fuzzier matters, like mustering mysticism on the catchy “Rome.” Those who remember her beat-heavy 1988 “South” LP (“Soviet Snow,” about Chernobyl, got extensive local airplay) can take pleasure in this disc, a blend of that album and “New.”
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