‘Hummingbird’
‘…with it’s piercing intimacy of Cindy’s voice against its spare backdrop, elevates Hummingbird to rare and exceptional heights. A truly transcendent album…’
Charley Dunlap
..At times I am reminded a little bit of Fairport Convention, at other times a little bit of Stevie Nicks, though mostly it sounds like what it is:unique…’ Joel Pfister’ (American review)
..The new songs are very strong, evocative and haunting…’
Cindy Stratton has been quietly singing, writing songs, making albums for several years in Bath while raising a family, working, teaching. The second part is called ‘life’; the first part is usually called ‘career’ if you don’t have a life. Her new cd, Hummingbird, is the next step in Cindy’s ‘career’ and it is gorgeous, it is artful, and is an artistic step few achieve.
It has a very slight Crosby-Stills-Nash feel and, like most of the songs, a very minimal instrumental accompaniment; mostly it is a call-and-response between Cindy and the chorus and it works beautifully.
The album is brief, seven songs averaging just over 3 minutes each, but it feels complete, bigger than it is. The heart of Hummingbird is, for me, those four songs in the centre. The first two songs are excellent and the last, Burning Babe, is far better than Sting’s version but that heart, with its piercing intimacy of Cindy’s voice against its spare backdrop, elevates Hummingbird to rare and exceptional heights. A truly transcendent album.
Charley Dunlap
Hummingbird and other Cindy Stratton CDs are available here and CD Baby
‘Hummingbird’ is an attempt to capture moods and essences.
I put it together over the summer months with the aim of finding a new way of writing and singing that sometimes draws on the healing power of chant like harmonies and rhythms.
The songs probably still put me firmly in familiar singer-songwriter territory, but I hope anyone who has followed my music over the years will also hear something quite new and interesting in what I’ve done. Every artist wants to be heard and I hope to draw new listeners to my work as a singer and writer. Each song says something about life and love.
When I write I usually want to make something beautiful and timeless.
I hope you will find some beauty in what you hear on this album
Love, Cindy..