Deena -- Somewhere In Blue

Deena -- Somewhere In Blue (self-released)

The third listen is the charm with the first solo album from Deena Shoshkes, the lead singer of The Cucumbers. Or should I say the third listen is where the charming really begins?

Deena still has the same sweet girlish voice that has made The Cucumbers a distinctive pop band since the ‘80s. And on this album, she shows that she is very well suited to sing country tinged numbers.

This platter isn’t all country (or alt-country for that matter) but blends in some twang with Deena’s stock-in-trade perky pop numbers. So if you dug The Cucumbers, you’ll have fun with the bopping “Gemini Guy” or “Science Fiction”, a nice jangly number.

But the heart of this album consists of winsome country-rock numbers like “That Moon’s Got It Made”, which spotlight her voice and her slightly offbeat world view (she’s not weird enough to be quirky -- she’s sweetly clever, without being a showoff) and “Why Do Hearts Go Cold?”. Deena even shows off a torch singer side on the title cut, which opens the album and helps set the tone. All in all, this is a very successful solo debut, with Deena expanding her artistic horizons while still playing to her strengths.