Louise Aubrie ‘Time Honoured Alibi’ Review: A Mix of Grit and Heart

Ever see the episode of “Friends” when Phoebe almost loses her gig at Central Perk to The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde?

That’s kind of what Louise Aubrie has going on in “Time Honoured Alibi.” A concoction of eight ballads and rock tracks, she travels the emotional gamut with guitar-powered tunes that prove her more than modest storytelling ability. Regardless of if she’s in a lower East side coffee house or a slimy alphabet city bar, this English transplant is never out of place.

Every song on the album has a familiarity to it. They’ll all remind you of a place, time or even another song. The acoustic guitar work in “Circuits” is reminiscent of the early work of Jewel and feels like an open letter to love itself. Like poetry, Aubrie uses repetition to define the mood, while the silky guitar track coaxes the listener into comfort. Vocally, it’s a highlight on the album. The change of pace from the “1.2.3.4” in the second verse, to the soothing “I’ll always be in love” build up to the chorus, is masterfully and beautifully arranged. Mixed by Cam Blackwood at Voltaire Road Studios in London (Cee Lo Green and Florence and the Machine) and mastered by Dave Collins Audio in Los Angeles, former Chief Mastering Engineer of A&M Studios, the attention to detail on “Time Honoured Alibi” is definitely there.

Aubrie proves however that she’s more than a mush. Tracks the likes of “Keep it Coming” “Where are You” and “Seams” have more grit to them and make her sound more like an ’80s rocker. The change in timbre is a refreshing one and keeps the listener on their toes. While her more melancholy tracks are solid, had all eight songs been this way, the album would have been geared more for depressed teenage girls. The way it stands now, the album has plenty of track diversity and flavor.

The songstress hurts herself at times during the album however. Although her voice is undoubtedly British and unique, some of the tracks feature too much sing-talk and not enough sing-sing. It goes hand in hand with her poetic lyrical style, but had she possessed a song on the album that was more vocally oriented and less balanced, she could have strutted her stuff a bit more.

In spite of a few blemishes, this album is a journey. Aubrie puts a guitar strap around her heart and let’s it tell a story. It’s a bit raw, but anything real always is. The technical mastery in the studio, from the hand claps and other bells and whistles don’t take away from the message. In a way, they refine it and polish. Although there isn’t one amazing track that separates itself from the rest on “Time Honoured Alibi,” there isn’t a lemon in the lot. Old school, gritty, but endearing post-punk rock with even a taste of rock-a-billy and folk, the album is best enjoyed as a whole experience, rather than a singular endeavor.

Check out a video for “Where are You” below:

 

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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