Tigerlily
,
Natalie Merchant
's first solo record, does sound different than
10,000 Maniacs
. Instead of relying strictly on jangly
folk-rock
Merchant
continues opening her music up as she did on
Our Time in Eden
, her last album with
the Maniacs
. From the understated groove of
"Carnival"
to the rolling
"San Andreas Fault,"
the added emphasis on rhythmic texture works, creating an intimate but not exclusive atmosphere that holds throughout the record, even when her occasionally sophomoric, sentimental poetry threatens to sink the album in the weight of its own preciousness (as in
"River,"
her tribute to the late actor
River Phoenix
). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine