Bitter Twisted Wrong - Review

At first glance I expected this, the debut album from Chrystina Tomlin, to be like an identikit Tanita Tikaram but then upon hearing the first track ‘Your Demise’ I automatically expected Joan Osborne-lite filled with angst and bitterness.

Actually, I was wrong on both counts. Tomlin, a product of The Christine Holmes Academy of Recording and Performing Arts, has her own style, folk-fuelled, with a spiky edge and definitely more Richard Thompson than Lindisfarne.

The 12-tracks are a nice blend and a good listen All tracks were written by Tomlin, so she's clearly a talented lady. In addition to the vocals she also plays acoustic guitar and piano, and the album was recorded with multi-instrumentalist, Phillip Goss (drums, guitars, bass and keyboards) who also handled production.

Stand out cuts for me are ‘Bitter Twisted Wrong’ and ‘Stand Corrected’ and Tomlin has a knack of telling a story with her lyrics, without becoming bitter-laden or too self-indulgent and all-in-all this a credible and accomplished first effort.


Steve Hole