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PAULINE BERRY Telling Tales http://www.mermaids.co.nz/Paulinepg2.html Stylistically it's hard to pin this Auckland singer down. The album opens with 'Anybody Else', an edgy track with a contemporary country feel. 'Get Up', which follows, is a slide guitar boogie/shuffle. But just when you think you've got Berry pigeonholed she gets under your guard with the gentle, introspective ballad 'Talk To Me'. What this tells you is that here is a singer capable of a wide range of moods: assertive, pained, demanding, resigned. Influences? There are lots of little K. D. Lang nuances here, as in 'Love Drowns Your Senses' (in which the title and lyrics also betray a lang-style sensibility). But then Berry is capable of sounding like Phoebe Snow too, and even Cyndi Lauper. This is a strong debut album, co-written by Berry and respected session musician Martin Winch, who provides the backing. File under Adult Contemporary ***1/2 Karl du Fresne (EVENING POST)
This album is largely a collaboration between Pauline Berry and partner/producer Martin Winch, who not only co-wrote all the music with her but programmed and sequenced much of this album which was recorded at his Canongate Studio in Auckland. Berry's vocals are rich and strong and undoubtedly the focus of this CD. On songs like 'Insecurity' her double tracked singing sounds like Maria McKee while the lush seamless harmonies on closing track 'Sell Your Soul' and torch song ballad 'Lullaby' reminded me a bit of Enya. When Winch pares the arrangements right back and lets her voice completely dominate - like on the penultimate track 'Returning', the pair achieve some effective, atmosphere-rich moments. 
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