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October 14, 2009 - "I haven't much that I want to do / Would you like to come and do that, too?" singer Clare Manchon asks in "All the Wine," the opening track on Clare and the Reasons' new album, Arrow. Rarely has throwing away the appointment book and clinking a glass with a loved one sounded so deliciously inviting.

With Manchon's pure, childlike voice and the gentle tastefulness of a whispering string arrangement, this charming song could have easily crossed a line into schmaltz. But her singing isn't arch or overly mannered; instead, it floats giddily over dry, understated strings like a dandelion seed in a breeze.

Manchon's words strike a graceful balance between wit and sweetness, offering the kindest of compliments — "Even when the rain is coming down / my hair feels dry when you're around" — when she's not advising listeners to "Lay and be lazy in the grass or the sea." It's good advice.

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