If It Ain't Love

“I’m no one-trick pony,” croons Megan Burtt on her latest release, It Ain’t Love. But the statement hardly seems true. She has one trick, and it’s lyrical clichés: things up sleeves, things hanging on by threads, and so on. It Ain’t Love has a hard time standing out among the vast drudge of adult contemporary music, with lyrics that are far too broad and that stay just impersonal enough not to evoke any deep emotions.

The album’s strongest offering, “Pay It Now,” opens with a haunting, echoing guitar that builds on Burtt’s pained Liz Phair-style vocals. But It Ain’t Love quickly turns for the worst on “Habit” when Burtt, sounding like a country-tinged Jill Sobule, makes trite comparisons between unhealthy love and drug addiction. Twangy guitars back lyrics like, “I’ve had my share of being low, but lately it’s been more than usual,” before launching into a chorus that thickly lays out the blatant metaphor “I got a habit / turns out it’s nothing new / just my habit of loving you.” The jazzy riff is appealing, but the subject matter never ventures beyond the obvious.    

The music, while unoriginal, is catchy and not lacking in technical talent. Burtt’s vocals can be pleasant and expressive, coming off equally sultry and wounded. Still, a charming voice and solid instrumentation can’t overshadow the grating use of hackneyed lyrics. Burtt’s one trick may sustain a few well-constructed songs, but not a whole album.