Grown - Kendall Payne

Focusing on the process of growing

One of the key themes that runs through the Spiderman comic series is understanding your gifts and limitations and accepting your identity. The tag line for the recent movie was "with great power comes great responsibility." This statement not only applies to becoming a superhero, but it also relates to everyday life. While we're not likely to get bitten by a spider and granted super powers, we all share in the experience of growing older and maturing. As we find ourselves learning more and becoming capable of accomplishing greater things, we also start to realize that we now have greater accountability for our actions. As we slowly shed our skins of innocence, we realize that we have become Grown.

Kendall Payne, who has been surprisingly absent since her fairly successful 1999 debut release Jordan's Sister, returns with a highly anticipated sophomore album focusing on the process of growing. The opening track ("Scratch") and the meloncholy "Happy" introduce the natural instinct to fight the aging process and remain young forever. Tracks such as "Rollercoaster" and "Ups and Downs" point out the unpredictable nature of life, "Superstar" speaks to the responsibility for our actions, while "Moon," "Backwards" and "Stand" encourage the listener to stay strong and keep living within your convictions. Overall, the lyrics on the album encapsulate various stages of life and growth.

Musically, Grown finds a varied audience, sometimes leaning towards a sound one would expect from Sixpence None the Richer, sometimes Jars of Clay, but always with an ear-catching pop sensibility that teases the notion of full orchestration. Though mainly an acoustic collection, the album feature occasional injections of instrumentation such as the haunting strings on "Scratch" or the harmonica touches in "Aslan." A sure highlight of the album, "The Moon" is an enchanting piano-based melody with poetic lyrics that showcase the delicate balance of music and words found throughout Kendall's work.

This album marks the long-awaited return of Kendall Payne and the title aptly describes all that's led up to this return. Featuring a more mature sound and insightful lyrics, Grown reminds the listener of the charming and intriguing music that Payne is capable of creating, causing us to welcome her back with open arms.