The Observer
Dave Gelly

In lyricist Fran Landesman and composer Simon Wallace, Britian has one of the finest songwriting partnerships alive, and Sarah Moule brings their songs to life with wit and understanding. Landesman is the poet laureate of the borderland between urban hipness and emotional insecurity, aterritory in which she finds an apparently endless supply of themes. Wallace's melodies not only match the form and mood of the words to perfection - they are actual tunes, which makes a change. These songs can only come fully alive in a jazz setting, provided here by, among others, Jim Mullen, Steve Waterman, Iain Ballamy and Tim Whitehead.

The Guardian
John Fordham
Friday November 15, 2002

The British singer Sarah Moule deftly delivered this title track at a recent London gig featuring a rare appearance by its original composer, the London-based American poet and lyricist Fran Landesman. This debut set for the subtle and intelligent young vocalist features 14 new songs of Landesman's, and Moule's purring voice - honeyed in sound, subtle in timing and pitch, shrewd in weighting the music with meaning - maximises the lyricist's repertoire of resigned humour, glimpsed tragedies and razor-sharp metaphor. Some fine musicians, including saxophonists Iain Ballamy and Tim Whitehead, and jazz/blues guitarist Jim Mullen, enhance an impressive beginning for Moule. British composer/ pianist Simon Wallace is
economically apposite on piano.

The Times
Clive Davis

That droll songwriter Fran Landesman seems to be working overtime supplying new material for London'syoung vocalists. Demure Sarah Moule – most Familiar as the voice of the John Wilson Orchestra – brings poise to a new set of numbers co-written by Moule's husband, the pianist Simon Wallace.
While Landesman's wit harks back to Cole Porter, she comes bang up to datewith the romantic yearnings of When Your Computer Crashes.

BBC Music Magazine
Garry Booth

This is very superior cabaret fare: well-crafted original numbers that aresung flawlessly, and with slick accompaniments. Surprising then, that this is an entirely British production. Admittedly, the lyricist responsible, Fran Landesman, is a quintessential New Yorker - but she has lived in London for nearly 40 years. Beat poet turned club proprieter and musical writer, Landesman is best known for Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most, written with Tommy Wolf and now part of the jazz standard repertoire.
Though now in her seventies, age has not dulled the sharpness of Landesman's pen. The pieces here, co-written with pianist Simon Wallace, provide a masterclass in brush-offs, put-downs and wisecracks.
Sarah Moule's bell-like, well-enunciated and somewhat operatic vocal style is rather at odds with the cynicism in material such as A Suicide in Schenectady, but the pairing works and the quality of Moule's voice is what connects the song with the listener. The backing band is a real bonus too, with welcome guest spots from, among others, tenorists Iain Ballamy and Tim Whitehead.

Jazzwise
Kenny Mathieson

Sarah Moule tackles a batch of new songs by lyricist Fran Landesman, in musical settings by Landesman's current songwriting partner, Simon Wallace (who also happens to be Moule's husband). As you would expect from the writer of Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most, Landesman's legendary wit and verbal dexterity is well in evidence on this latest batch of material, just as it was on Nicki Leighton-Thomas' similarly conceived Forbidden Games. Sarah Moule and her collaborators are sure-footed interpreters, even when the subject matter is very dark, as in A Suicide in Schenectady (spookily written for - but never sung by - the late Susannah McCorkle). The singer has a sweet, beguiling voice and a cool delivery, and captures the tone and Fell of these bittersweet, cynical, but often funny songs to perfection. The supporting cast of instrumentalists is built around an excellent quintet, with Wallace on piano and Jim Mullen on guitar, augmented by guest spots by Iain Ballamy, Tim Whitehead and others, and guest vocals by Ian Shaw. If you like the jazz-cabaret approach, this is a classy and very enjoyable production.