MARCH 2010 ONLINE EDITORIALS

Megan Burtt - This Ain’t Love

album cover

By Joshua Espinoza

Though its title might convince you the CD is the most generically “brokenhearted-girl” endeavor this side of corny poetry blogs, It Ain’t Love is unexpectedly mature, evocative and heartfelt. After listening to the first couple of subtly crafted tracks, the beautiful execution melts away any preconceived notion of contrived saccharinity that often plagues female artists. There’s no pretense here; she says what she means, and she means what she says.
As a whole, the 12-song album maintains diversity yet coherence. The first track, “Pay it Now,” is an open-armed soft-pop cut with an undertone of country western, while the closing track, “One Wing,” is as hauntingly personal as it is beautiful. The pieces in between give proof to Burtt’s wide-ranging musical tastes as she incorporates everything from robust, lean guitar riffs to ghostly violins that seem as dizzying as the love she sings about. Perhaps more striking than the album’s instrumentations is Burtt’s lyricism. Her vignettes about the much-addressed subject of love are honest, richly poetic and sung through wispy bravado and light drawls.
Having constructed her first album at age 7 and being admitted into the Berklee College of Music, Burtt is clearly a woman who possesses the passion and experience necessary to gain acclaim and respect.
It Ain’t Love reaches a certain level of authenticity and skill level that forces you to appreciate her talent and makes you want to revisit this CD over and over again. If this ain’t love, I don’t know what is.
meganburtt.com