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CD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

By ERIC R. DANTON | The Hartford Courant

Her last album proved she's more than a teen-pop also-ran. Now Mandy Moore faces
the same challenge any other singer-songwriter does: delivering songs that are
consistently compelling.

She does a decent job of it on "Amanda Leigh" (Storefront Recordings), her sixth
studio album. It's a low-key pop record in the vein of its predecessor, "Wild
Hope," with one key difference: That album was the product of some serious
emotional turbulence, coming as it did on the heels of her breakup with actor
Zach Braff ("Scrubs").

This time, Moore broadens her approach with songs searching for a sense of
belonging ("Song About Home"), reminiscing about a bygone place and time
("Indian Summer") or simply musing over the vagaries of life ("Pocket
Philosopher").

No topic makes for an aching adult-pop song like love, though, and Moore
obliges, demanding reciprocity on "Love To Love Me Back" as steel guitar keens
over whirring organ, or spinning hypotheticals about a closed-off would-be love
on the moody "Everblue" (co-written with Lori McKenna).

Moore, who is now married to alt-country singer Ryan Adams, of all people,
co-wrote each of the 11 songs on the album, working mostly with former Candy
Butchers front man Mike Viola. They make a compatible team, particularly on "I
Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week." Moore shows flashes of saucy
attitude on the upbeat, organ-based song, cautioning a lover that she's no
pushover. "Those calendar girls, yeah they've got nothing on me," she sings, and
her tone — playful but firm — brooks no argument.

Essential download: "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week"