Karaugh Brown is a name to remember for future reference. It's certainly an unusual name -- not Brown, obviously -- but it will be for her writing that she should become famous.

This CD has 11 tracks, all of which appear to be written by the young lady. These are not your run-of-the-mill love songs or contemporary comment pieces. Each has a literary quality that betrays an interest in language and its use.

Even the title of track 1 will fascinate: "The Flame & the Smoulder." The track is rather enigmatic but is worth a listen even just for the final line, "Through the topaz of your eyes." "Still Love" is a song of love and distance. "I pray three times a day, once for my love three oceans away." These are lyrics that deserve a much wider audience.

The title track of this album continues to tease us with the lyrics. It is a joy to listen to but one can never be sure what we are hearing. The song seems to be written in Venice but lines like "I tiptoed around scared to be an American" made me long for liner notes explaining the background to these inventive songs. Again with "San Antonio" -- I felt this song would mean so much more if I could understand the background. Here as in other songs the language is that of poetry. "All I see are angels and acrobats, married to the ground." "Swallow" is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Who could ignore lyrics like "out of real and into reeling"?

If one track on this CD should get a mass audience it has to be "One Two Three." Even if you never buy the CD seek out the lyrics of this one track. It is fantastic in content and in execution.

This is one of those true "album releases." It is not hit-single material. These are strong songs, not listened to by the mass radio audiences, and I hope that such neglect will not discourage Brown. Here is intelligent English, thoughtful words and feeling for emotions.

One Round Orange is poetry for 2003.

[ visit Karaugh Brown's website ]