According to Webster’s New College Dictionary, ‘Canton’ is universally a term used to divide and separate into regions, to assign quarters, label divisions, and with Cantona it is no exception. Unfortunately, the region they must be relegated to is one crammed with a myriad of bands, all good enough to record an album, but still miles away from being a legitimate contender for the crown of mass popularity.
Consisting of the tried and true formula of a female singer in front of three male musicians, Cantona does nothing to try and distinguish itself from the crowd. In fact, it felt as though each song were written with a pop mentality that just tries to coast along on rudimentary songwriting skills pulled from the bargain bin of major chords, four/four time, and other keys in writing a soulless upbeat song.
In their defense, there could be an audience found half way between indie rock and true bubblegum pop lovers, but Cantona doesn’t fit in either spectrum, singing songs too laidback for rock lovers and not poppy enough for radio rockers.
Although an easy listen to Cantona’s debut A Sort of Smile starts with a hopeful promise of slinky vocals and uncomplicated musicianship, it ends on exactly the same note as it began, leaving me wondering if the last two song titles weren’t more appropriate together as the albums title – “Sorry” and “It’s too Bad.”
