Carlton has never gained much exposure in the UK outside of her one hit single, A Thousand Miles. That was a classic track, wasn’t it?

Fast forward a couple of years and Vanessa hit hard times. A lack of label support for her second album Harmonium led to poor sales and a change of record label. She returns this year with a new label, new album Heroes And Thieves and a new single in Nolita Fairytale.

Nolita – in case you’re wondering – is a shortening of “North Of Little Italy” which is apparently a shopping district in New York City.

However, Nolita Fairytale is an autobiographical tune that references her last couple of years. Especially Vanessa’s difficulties with her record label:

Take away my record deal
(Go on I don’t need it)
Spent the last two years
Getting to what’s real….

She also namechecks Stevie Nicks, who she’s toured extensively with. And presumably has mentored her to a great extent.

Anyway, Nolita sticks tightly to the Carlton formula. It’s a safe enough song in a mid-tempo, piano pop kind of way. It may be just the genre, but this type of music sounds like it’s MFOC. That’s made for The O.C. I just made that up.

Verdict? Not a bad tune, but for me all Vanessa’s work will be judged against the yardstick of A Thousand Miles. Fair or not, Nolita Fairytale just doesn’t have that feelgood factor.