Polski opis

Gatunek :	Rock / Pop
Rok Wydania :	2005
Jakość :	VBR ~239 kbps JointStereo
Okładki :	Nie
Ripper :	Dr. E

Opis:
Heather Frith studiowała malarstwo, reżyserię i muzykę filmową na prywatnej uczelni w Bostonie (USA). Pierwszą płytę, minialbum These Walls, wydała w 1990 jeszcze pod prawdziwym nazwiskiem. Kolejna płyta, Glow Stars, opublikowana już pod pseudonimem Heather Nova, stanowiła zestawienie dwóch ścieżek demo. Koncerty w Wielkiej Brytanii zaowocowały albumem Blow, na którym artystka skierowała się w stronę muzyki rockowej, zwłaszcza dzięki współpracy z gitarzystami i aranżerami Dave'em Ayersem oraz Youthem. Sukces komercyjny osiągnęła albumem Oyster z 1995, a przede wszystkim przebojem Walk This World. W ostatnich latach skłania się ku kameralnej muzyce akustycznej, porzucając rockowe brzmienie. Najnowszy album artystki, Redbird ukazał się w sierpniu 2005, a promowała go piosenka Welcome autorstwa Heather i Dido.

Żródło: pl.wikipedia.org

 English description

Genre :	Rock / Pop
Year :	2005
Quality :	VBR ~239 kbps JointStereo
Covers :	No
Ripper :	Dr. E

Description:
Two years is a long time in the music industry and, as it turns out, ample time too for significant changes in the world of Heather Nova. Since her last album Storm snuck up quietly on 2003, she has relocated from the UK back to her childhood home of Bermuda and given birth to her first child, Sebastian. These are the sort of life events that songwriters inevitably draw upon in creating their art and Redbird unmistakeably reflects a consummate artist maturing in her craft.

That said, opener Welcome is something of a throwback to the turn of the millennium. Co-written with Dido, the track was originally included as a bonus incentive for the delayed North American release of 2001’s South, but has not hitherto been available on this side of the pond. Much of the criticism levelled at that album was aimed at its overly slick production, and Welcome is no slouch in that department. Yet despite basking in samples, scratches and swirling, unfurling loops, it was easily the most dynamic and accessible of South’s suite of songs, and is no less wonderful here. But don’t be fooled by its glossiness (courtesy of production trio The Matrix, who’ve worked with Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears), it’s not a true indication of the further delights to come. Then again, neither is what comes next. I Miss My Sky is not so much a song as a five-minute operetta that Nova claims to be the pinnacle of her songwriting achievements to date. She may not be entirely wrong either, it’s an astonishing piece of music. Based on a conspiracy theory that aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart did not perish in the Pacific Ocean, but that she and co-pilot, Fred Noonan, crash-landed on an atoll, living out their remaining days in isolation. Earhart looks back on the events that brought her to this place, muses on the thoughts of those left behind and rails against the injustice of being confined to a small patch of earth when her true home is in the freedom of the sky. The intimate story effectively parallels universal themes of frustration experienced by those prevented from living out their destinies by cruel circumstances. The bare-boned acoustic intro builds inexorably to a climax of pain and desperation, with Sophie Solomon’s plaintive violin tracing haunting countermelodies beneath the impassioned vocal.

The rest of the album treads the stripped-back rock path that Nova first journeyed on Storm. Yet despite their more conventional nature than the double-barrelled opening salvo, they are nonetheless strong and extremely satisfying. Inevitably, motherhood rears its head on several tracks; Motherland and Singing You Through give voice to the primal feelings of protectiveness and responsibility that a mother feels for her child, while Mesmerised reflects the overpowering, simultaneous emotions of vulnerability and strength evoked by the experience. The gentle lullaby of closer The Sun Will Always Rise also dwells in this context, offering a soft and comforting hymn of reassurance that the light will forever prevail. Although couched in the familiar context of a mainstream pop/rock structure, Redbird demonstrates Nova’s continuing confidence as a songwriter and lyricist. The title track successfully produces a subliminal evocation of the colour red and its vibrant symbolism through the lyrical references to roses, pomegranates, flames, roses, rubies and lust. On Overturned, Nova proves surprisingly adept at marrying a talking blues song to a backing that's equal parts Oasis and early Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – no mean feat! Elsewhere, the London Community Gospel Choir convene to bring a sense of uplifiting majesty to Done Drifting and A Way To Live.

In the past, Nova has covered everyone from The Beatles to The Clash, Nick Cave to Neil Young, and here opts for a fairly straight cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. Yes, you read that correctly. Even more bizarrely, it is oddly effective. Whilst all the trademark twangy, Duane Eddy- like guitar parts remain firmly in place in a backing track that's so close to the original it's barely distinguishable, Isaak’s blue yodel vocal stylings are replaced by Nova’s pure falsetto and render the song utterly lovely. Overall, Redbird is an accomplished work and her strongest collection in years that re-establishes Nova as an artistic force to be reckoned with.

Source: thetrousers.co.uk