The Once, a trio from Newfoundland, earned my attention and won my heart when they performed at the 2012 Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Their albums The Once and Row Upon Row of the People They Know remain perennial favorites of mine but, I confess, I haven't kept up with much of what they've done since. Recently, I got a copy of their most recent album, 2018's Time Enough.

It's a letdown.

Don't get me wrong, the band -- Geraldine Hollett, Phil Churchill and Andrew Dale -- remains immensely talented, and Hollett's voice in particular is dynamic and appealing. Their instrumentation is flawless, and their arrangements and vocal harmonies are great.

But, where the band once leaned heavily into interpreting traditional songs and covers, Time Enough is an album's worth of original songs -- and they're not all that memorable. They're pleasant enough, mostly as background music, but they're not songs you'll find yourself humming along with or recalling later.

Some of the lyrics sound immensely personal, and if you listen closely you may well be drawn into the words. If the band had included some of these on an album with some of their more traditional material, this review would probably have an entirely different tone. Unfortunately, though, the all-original route doesn't work as well for them as they might have hoped.

[ visit The Once's website ]