MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: GRACE POTTER - MIDNIGHT

A first solo album without the Nocturnals, but did anyone ever consider the group anything but a Grace Potter vehicle?  Perhaps she felt the band named tied her to the soul/blues/jam crowd which originally turned her into a festival star, but that same group has been seeing her change over the past couple of albums for better or worse.  Here's the full transition now, with lots of pop and dance beats, and enough hooks to make Carly Rae proud.

Now, I'm not saying she's gone teeny-bop here, but certainly those fans who followed her ripping blues riffs on guitar or big soul chords on organ are going to be confused by the funky bass line and synth burble on Your Girl.  It is actually a nice little Prince-styled number, and Potter sings this stuff with lots of energy and conviction.  But when it's sitting on the album beside a killer track such as Empty Heart, with its stompin' R'n'B and Rolling Stones grooves and gospel choir, it's hard for the old fans to let go of the old direction.  We're just going to have to accept that there's now a bigger part of her that wants to chase a modern pop dream for now, and maybe we should loosen up a little and accept her dance moves too.