Mandy Moore has always been a conflicted lady. Is she a singer or an actress? Is she a packaged starlet or a legitimate talent? Does she date dudes like Wilmer Valderrama or dudes like Zach Braff? Piggybacking on this polarity is Moore’s new CD Wild Hope: one half ambitious blues-folk, the other half uninspired pop.
Vocally, this sounds nothing like the Mandy Moore we knew. Gone is the Mariah-disciple breathiness, the nasality; in their place is an effortless mezzo, the sort of singing that makes the discipline seem easy. When she lilts into soprano, it’s graceful and resonant; her fluttering trills are fully controlled.
This talent is best showcased on her blues-folk tracks. Opener “Extraordinary” offers a rustic twang; “Most of Me” and “Wild Hope” are both lulling and easy. Back-porch relaxation and jilted-lover sulking make Moore seem like a baby bird chirping up to Patty Griffin. Yet that calm is devastated by dated tracks like “Slummin’ in Paradise” and “Looking Forward to Looking Back.” The forgettable melodies recall gummy ’80s pop, and overproduction swallows Moore’s voice. Such tracks are so weak they almost cancel out the good.
Fortunately, the album closes with the piece de resistance “Gardenia.” The track is mature, plaintive and heartbreaking; yet it also provides evidence of a talent otherwise quelled.