Ottawa Citizen

Try playing a Jenny Whiteley CD when doing something else -- reading the paper, preparing your tax return. It's surprising how much of the music you'll absorb even while focused on other things. More than just good melodies and lyrics, both Whiteley hallmarks, it's also her understated delivery that, paradoxically, awakens a response whether or not you're actively listening. Whatever the reason for that, the Ontario singer-songwriter pulls it off again here as she depicts love in all its phases, wrapping her stories in a weave of country, pop and bits of bluegrass. The wistful opening track, the old Buddy Holly single Raining in My Heart, is an especially fine example of Whiteley's affecting, unobtrusive style.