Yasmine White has a beautiful voice, her clear and pleasant tones leading you on a journey through her Simple Truths album. A talented lady, she has written all 11 songs on the CD, and she accompanies herself on guitar and occasionally synthesizer, providing her own harmonies, too. Jim Baird accompanies her on bass and Mara Beamish guests with violin on three tracks.

The clarity of Yasmine's voice and her lyrics demand your attention from the outset, gently insisting on concentration on the feelings she is expressing. She sings songs for folk to listen to, songs about life, her hopes and fears and injustices, her love and uncertainties and inadequacies. The presentation of the songs, apparently simple, almost unadorned with unobtrusive accompaniment, makes you feel you are in the room with her as she sings. The quality of her voice emphasises the emotive subjects and she elusively defies categorization or comparison. Perhaps Suzanne Vega began like this, but became ensnared in the maelstrom of fashion?

"Lemon Trees" opens the album well, with a gentle guitar intro, and then we are introduced to the extraordinary vocals of Yasmine; although the tune runs to a rain beat rhythm, not one word blurs or gets lost. "I Am Not Your Saint" is a clarion call to all those who martyr themselves for others, and hopefully it will also strike a chord with those who accept and expect the sacrifice. "Can I take my crown off now/My wings have come undone/I am not your saint or your angel in the sun/I'm just looking for a place/Where I can rest my head/So I know who I'm supposed to be/At night when I'm in bed." The chorus slides into the subconscious, surfacing as you find yourself doing those million-and-one never-ending chores and trying to solve those exasperating problems!

"Swallowed Whole" is an ironic look at smothering love and the desire to break free, sung in a light-hearted and comedic fashion, and deftly accompanied by violin -- it has a unique appeal. "Justice" takes a look at society and removes the rose-coloured glasses of pseudo-heroics, good intentions teetering on top of a foundation of unresolved personal problems. Not all the album is in this vein; the lifeblood of the majority of the lyrics is the recurring theme of love, its insecurities, its quiet joys and its deep strengths. "Hold Me" is a particularly poignant cry of loss and the need for comfort. The CD ends with "The Simple Truth," with heartfelt lines like "I need you to see when I can't be what I was meant to be" and the album ends on a positive and gentle note.

I do feel she should have placed the attractive and slightly challenging photo of herself on the front of the cover, rather than the unexplained choice of Tim Kimrey's painting, and the best photo of herself hidden behind the CD, but at least the cover has the nice feature of the lyrics printed in full. I hope this album reaches more appreciative ears, and we are treated to further insights and soul-baring truths from this silver-voiced music-maker.

- Rambles
written by Jenny Ivor
published 14 December 2002

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