St Louis County Library

Alex Clare's debut CD "Lateness of the Hour" has a hit single with the intense tune "Too Close." Clare's voice is smooth with a gritty edge which allows the genre hopping he does on the CD to really work. Like "Too Close" itself, which starts smooth but then the chorus builds with a pumping crescendo of synthesizers and sharp percussion, the CD is full of peaks and valleys. It's all good music, coated in Clare's rich-as -melted-caramel voice, but it is a musical mixture. "Relax My Beloved" is haunting soul and somber while "Hands are Clever" uses a funky 70's groove and "Up All Night" has a dubstep feel. Throughout the musical narrative, Clare's voice strings the disparate parts together. There is much to enjoy here even as the mood swings wildly from track to track. Clare tells you on the closer "I Won't Let You Down."

--Cindy F., Headquarters