Don't Look Away
Kate Voegele
MySpace/Interscope

Bay Village native Kate Voegele performed at Farm Aid amongst a star-studded cast in September of 2005. The singer-songwriter shared a day that included performances by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, and countless others. The attention paid to her at the high-profile gig -- as well as a recent appearance at South By Southwest in Austin, TX -- pushed her to the peak of buzzworthiness, just as she was gearing herself for studies at Miami University at Oxford. But while most students down that way long for the megaparty known only as Halloween, Voegele's aim was studying hard and putting in the time on stage at Uptown music venues and bars.

Voegele has since hit the bigtime, signing a major label deal and releasing her debut Don't Look Away this week on the joint online-record company label partnership, MySpace/Interscope. On Don't Look Away, the one-time teen sensation does what she does best: introspective, melodic songs for the Teen Vogue set. Falling somewhere between Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton and Chantal Kreviazuk -- with a pinch of Avril Lavigne for good measure -- the 20-year-old Voegele has definitely streamlined her sound. Her vocals are stronger, the melodies and crescendos are more focused and the production of pop knob-twiddler Marshall Altman (Marc Broussard, Jupiter Sunrise) has definitely helped chanteuse Voegele find her voice.

Don't Look Away revisits several of Voegele's songs, including the entire Lounder Than Words EP she released locally. "Only Fooling Myself," "Top of the World," "Facing Up" and "Kindly Unspoken" all have a sharper, more polished and stalwart edge to them. As for Voegele's voice and thoughtful lyrics, both have matured well and the catchy, acoustic pop hooks to create a masterful and melodic acoustic rock project. Longtime fans of Voegele's will be pleased that none of the reissues sound unrecognizable; new fans will appreciate her diary-like candor. To wit, Altman's strength is that he helps artists stay true to their own artistic credos.

Will Don't Look Away be a runaway smash? It's hard to guess, really. Tastes change like the seasons anymore. Voegele's wise newer songs like "Wish You Were," "Devil in Me" and the bright leadoff "Chicago" suggest she will do quite well for herself. With labels pushing even harder to remain relevant, sound hip and find the Next Big (Sale) Thingy, I'm guessing the new entity MySpace/Interscope will push her record hard. Heartfelt pop rock has never really gone out of style, but its most recent wave has already crested. To that end, that Don't Look Away sound would have been a smash hit 5 years back, but hey, it still has an audience. Here's hoping Don't Look Away will be more than just a modest success from a sweet and successfully modest local gal and pop diva in the making.

Kate Voegele celebrates the release of Don't Look Away with a CD release party and live performance at the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues this Thursday, May 24 at 8PM. For more information, visit http://www.katevoegele.com.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com
(:divend:)