Virt Records
2004
Warm Strangers
About This Album
It was easy to heap accolades on Vienna Teng's debut recording, Waking Hour, and its impeccable set of songs that overflowed with intelligence and sensitivity. Coming out at a time when plucky, piano-banging youngsters like Vanessa Carlton were upstaging their more reflective predecessors like Sarah McLachlan, Teng's songs kicked up a little wind for all sensitive singer/songwriters. But after the dust of praise finally settled, Waking Hour appeared slightly fragile in retrospect, with songs that were a bit too precious and self-conscious. This may have proven to be a blessing in disguise, as her follow-up disc, Warm Strangers, displays the confidence of a burgeoning artist who had gotten her feet wet and has now plunged headlong into a pool of sparkling songs. Breaking the surface with the uneasy strains of "Feather Moon," Teng takes command with a quiet intensity that immediately bests anything from her debut, as her haunting voice beckons to "breathe in, breathe out," bringing to mind Kate Bush's equally spooky "Breathing." Unlike her debut's quiet meditations that tended to bleed into each other, Teng gets positively upbeat on several tracks.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4,5,6,7,9,10 and 11)

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