One of the things I enjoyed is her affinity for the old nursery rhymes and stories of long ago. The standout track "Broken" beautifully references our long forgotten egg friend Humpty: "All the King's horses and all the King's men, putting the pieces together again." She's right in her presentation of God's willingness to heal when she points out "A broken and contrite heart He'll not refuse." Kesler has not lost the childish part of her soul and it aids and abets beautifully on "Green Room."
She takes a minimalist approach to instrumentation and production that suits her understated gentle music. Quietly introspective, she offers 12 original songs in this well-packaged CD, most backed very simply by acoustic guitar and the occasional piano or drum appearance. Her intent clearly is to encourage and affirm, as the lovely "So Beautiful" exemplifies. My one complaint would be the lack of diversity in terms of tempo; most of these songs are very similar in both tempo and general length, so there can be a tendency to run together if you're not feeling mellow yourself. I enjoyed most the one time she does break pattern with the entertaining and well-written "Distraction": "Distraction, Distraction, My affair with the moment." Perfect for a rainy summer afternoon, check out Marianne Kesler here.
