I’ll admit, this album caught my eye. Courtney on the cover sitting in the grass, all legs and cut-off jean shorts in a retro flower printed blouse. Then on the back of the case, there she is lacing up an old pair of boots outside in the summertime. “How couldn’t this girl kick ass?” I asked myself. Plus, she’s Canadian. “How can she not be my favorite new artist?” I queried.

Excited to check out this hot emerging musician, I gave Nowhere I’d Rather Be, Courtney Farquhar’s first full-length album, a listen. The first two tracks were absolutely generic love songs with a bit of a country feel. I thought the album might redeem itself with the third track, “We’re All the Same,” as it resembles a refreshingly cynical take on the myth of individual uniqueness that humans seem to hold so dear. Lyrics like “the interesting things I thought to say/never made it out of my mouth that day/but it doesn’t matter anyways/no one’s listening” had a truthful resonance. Unfortunately, and perhaps a bit ironically, this is the only track on the album that really stood out.

Maybe it’s because I’m so over that whole “love” thing, but with unoriginal lyrics like “you’re the light in my sky/you’re the apple of my eye/I can’t wait to tell the world that I love you,” in the song “Eyes Painted Blue,” I found myself feeling extremely disappointed in Farquhar. The remainder of the album sounded like ideal elevator music — unremarkable hints of jazz and uninspiring. As I was listening to Nowhere I’d Rather Be I felt like I was stuck on an elevator — although a slightly more progressive elevator than most — but there were many other places I’d rather be than listening to that album again.

.5 stars our of 5