“I’m uninspired, come here and turn me on,” purrs Australian singer – songwriter Trysette Loosemore as she opens her album Le Café Ancien, which she recorded in the U.K. and in the south of France. As the music’s momentum picks up Loosemore, develops a bit of a growl and an edge to her vocals, while accompanying herself on the electric keys.

American audiences may be familiar with Trysette Loosemore for her performance at the L.A. Women’s Music Festival and she toured with singer – songwriter, pianist Bob Malone, who reminds one a bit of a grittier version of Canada’s Ron Sexsmith. Australian audiences first became acquainted with Trysette Loosemore as she opened for The Waifs and for Deborah Conway.  

If listeners are looking for a reference in terms of the style of music that they will hear from the more Pop oriented songs on this album, think of Sara Bareilles, early in her career. What Bareilles, has however and what Loosemore still needs to bring to her music is the ability to infuse her vocals with passion.  

With Loosemore’s original song “Already,” the singer confesses that she if falling in love, but she has been hurt before and she is afraid to let go again. Rather than a song of angst or one that is syrupy, Trysette Loosemore strikes an honest balance with an upbeat tempo and words that simply admit that despite her feelings, she is not sure she is ready yet.  The combination of Loosemore’s easy flowing vocals and the lighter mood created by the synths and electric keys, invite the listener to sing along.  

“Everything’s OK,” is reminiscent of songs like “Even The Nights Are Better,” and “All Out Of Love,” recorded by the Australian Pop – Light Rock duo Graham Russell (actually born in England) and Russell Hitchcock, better known in the mid-seventies and eighties as Air Supply.

On the song “Silky Fingers,” we would have liked to have heard a little more creativity in the lyrics. For a song that speaks to seduction, there are ways to utilize Trysette Loosemore’s vocals more. She teases the listener with her vocals, lowering her voice just enough to draw you in, but this is where the producer and the artist need to dig a little deeper to stir the passion in the listener and this song falls just short of that. The first four lines of the song set the listener up for the seduction, “I’m gonna take you by the hand tonight / I’m gonna lay with you in the soft moonlight / I’m gonna remind you of the reasons why / You love me like you do,” but then the bubble bursts and at first blush we thought it was the lyrics, but it is because the phrasing and the tempo of the song do not change pace. For a song such as this, the listener needs to hear passion and that passion also needs to be stirred within those listening to “Silky Fingers.” The ability to be “in the moment” and to evoke strong emotions from the listener is what always distinguishes great singers.   

On the 9^th track “Too Much,” Trysette Loosemore gets back to the sound that lured the listener in with the first two songs that open the album. The music is up-tempo, lighter and possesses a Pop melody, driven by keys.  If she has not done this already, Loosemore may want to consider also recording a version of this song that packs a bit more bite, with edgier vocals to broaden her appeal across more radio formats. Let this version stand for the Pop radio stations and offer up something grittier for the rock stations. 

Chris Corney’s banjo introduces us to the last song “So Fine,” a Folkier Pop tune, that would have been served better had it been introduced earlier in the album, for a change of pace, as it is considerably different than the other songs on Le Café Ancien and the more you listen to the banjo and the vocals the more this song grows on you. The singer and the musician compliment each other well.