Heather Nova Meets Ingrid Michaelson For A Fine Frenzy’s Pines!

The Good: Voice, Lyrics, Decent musical diversity.
The Bad: No truly great tunes, Derivative sound and feel.
The Basics: A Fine Frenzy channels more established/popular singer-songwriters on Pines, which is not bad . . . though it is disturbingly derivative.


Lately, I have been listening to my iPod at work. I work long nights, long shifts, and I have just rediscovered my whole digital music collection, which was pretty exciting for me (it makes mind-numbing work that less unpleasant!). Having just made it through my whole music collection, I find myself in an interesting place to evaluate the new music that comes my way. The latest new (to me) album to cross my desk is Pines by A Fine Frenzy. I was an early buyer of the debut album by A Fine Frenzy (before “Almost Lover” was charting as a single or anyone truly knew about the group (artist), but A Fine Frenzy albums have been unfortunately hit or miss for me. Still, I am always eager to listen to and review new music and Pines seemed like an ambitious concept album to me.

Unfortunately, Pines does what a third album ought to do (which is show some musical growth from the artist), but it does so in a poor way. Every track on Pines sounds like it could have come from some other artist. Specifically, A Fine Frenzy sounds like Heather Nova and Ingrid Michaelson on the songs on Pines. While I could stand to have a “lost Heather Nova album” that I have the thrill of discovering, Pines does not back up the Nova-esque vocal force on songs like “The Sighting” and “Sadseasong.” Similarly, while there are moments that A Fine Frenzy sounds like Ingrid Michaelson, those moments are not match Michaelson’s sense of whimsy or humor even as they occasionally get her sense of pep. The result is an album that is likely to please and impress A Fine Frenzy fans, but those who have a broader appreciation of modern female singer/songwriters are likely to be left with a more lukewarm reaction.

With thirteen songs, clocking out at 67:42, Pines is very much the creative vision of Alison Sudol (A Fine Frenzy). Sudol wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks on the album, in addition to providing all of the lead vocals. Sudol plays piano or guitar on each of the songs. While Sudol did not produce Pines, the fact that it is a concept album she wrote makes it hard to argue that this was not the work she intended to release into the world.

Vocally, Alison Sudol loses all distinction of her own on Pines. Often produced to sound just a touch quieter than her instruments, Sudol has her usual incredible range, though she tends to stay in the soprano range on Pines. It was utterly unsurprising for me to learn that Pines was recorded live because on many of the softer, quieter, tracks there is a hollowness to the vocals, like the hint of an echo, that puts an auditory drag on Sudol’s vocals. Here is where the album is most derivative. Sudol sounds like Ingrid Michaelson on “Avalanches” and “Sailingsong.” Each time she carries her highest notes for a few moments, most notably on “Pinesong,” Sudol sounds like Heather Nova. Unfortunately, she does not sing as articulately as either of those artists, so it took me a good three listens to catch each of the lines. Also a detraction to Pines is how Sudol uses the backing vocals on songs like “Now Is The Start” where it sounds like she is being accompanied by a multitude of small children . . . which does not fit her sound or target demographic.

Most of Pines is composed of slower, contemplative songs. There is a narcoleptic quality to the pianowork from Sudol on Pines, as if she is just noodling through the album. This would not be so bad, save that after eight spinnings of Pines, I do not find myself humming any of the tunes and I don’t think I could pick a single song off Pines if it were being played as musak (by contrast, I was thrilled the first time I recognized “Almost Lover” as musak and I can still recall the tune to “Bomb In A Birdcage,” despite it being years since I last heard it). The album is dominated by piano, guitars, with significant back-up from lighter strings and the occasional chime. Much of the album sounds like one of Sophie B. Hawkins’s lesser-known tracks. Radically different is “Sailingsong,” which uses a lot of percussion and has an up-tempo beat. Like “They Can’t If You Don’t Let Them,” which has more ominous instrumentation, “Sailingsong” wakes the listener up with its more dynamic sound . . . before the subsequent tracks put the listener back to sleep!

Pines is something of a concept album, of a physical and emotional journey across a remote landscape. Sudol has something to say on Pines, even if her vocalizations of her own words do not always make it as clear as it ought to be. In fact, Sudol drowns out some of her most important lines on the album with a Fiona Apple-like rage on “They Can’t If You Don’t Let Them.” Amid crescendos and some of the album’s only drumwork, Sudol sings “Fog and fears and a mouth full of hot tears, / Can drown that voice sent to guide you. / And wicked tongues with their hooks, / And their ice blood, / Can wake the demons inside you. / Doubt will creep through the windows as you sleep, / Setting in like a cold, cold front. / Your hands go numb and your stomach doubles up. / And you think, was I happy once?” (“They Can’t If You Don’t Let Them”), which is a decent set of lines.

Alison Sudol is an impressive poet on Pines. With lines like “. . . you never know where you’re going to go / When the anchor lifts, oh, lifts / Pry my fingers off / Loosen the deathly grip / You can’t be tethered to a ghost / To a memory / You’ve got to swim” (“It’s Alive”), Sudol illustrates that she has something to say and she has a decent ability to say what she wants. Sudol creates a vivid sense of emotion and has moments of wonderful imagery on Pines (assuming one is able to stay awake for them)!

Melancholy and mellow, Pines drifts listlessly from track to track, broken up by cacophanic reminders that Sudol has the ability to make decent pop-rock music until it ends as erratically as it began. While the album does not hold together very well (I recommend not listening to it while on a long trip!), it is not terrible by any means. But, having listened to it now eight times, I am utterly unsurprised it did not grow A Fine Frenzy’s base; Pines is, primarily, unmemorable and indistinct, which makes it impossible for me to recommend.

The best track is “Avalanches (Culla’s Song)” and the most of the rest of the album is auditory mush, so it’s hard to truly pick a low point.

For other works by A Fine Frenzy, be sure to visit my reviews of:
One Cell In The Sea
Bomb In A Birdcage
Oh Blue Christmas (EP)

4/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Originality Undermines Emotion On A Fine Frenzy’s Oh Blue Christmas!

The Good: Wonderful vocals, Musical accompaniment is interesting
The Bad: Short, Reinterpretations drastically change the emotions of the songs, Original tracks are entirely moody.
The Basics: Oh Blue Christmas is an extended play disc from A Fine Frenzy, which has Alison Sudol reinterpreting three Christmas songs and adding three original, anything-but-festive, songs.


One of the things I look for in a Christmas album is originality. I’m not impressed by albums that simply have the latest pop star doing their covers of ten to twelve familiar Christmas songs that virtually everyone knows. So, if anything, I was inherently biased toward Oh Blue Christmas, a six track EP by A Fine Frenzy, the band which is mostly the work of Alison Sudol. Oh Blue Christmas followed on the heels of Bomb In A Birdcage (reviewed here!), which was A Fine Frenzy’s sophomore album. Like Bomb In A Birdcage, Oh Blue Christmas takes the lyric-writing skill that was evident on One Cell In The Sea (reviewed here!) and combines it with an increased sense of musical richness.

Unfortunately, Oh Blue Christmas is half original, half standards. The standards are mediocre reinterpretations of “Blue Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland,” and the far more obscure “Christmas Time Is Here Again.” With six tracks, clocking out at 21:49, Oh Blue Christmas is mostly the work of A Fine Frenzy. The three original tracks were written by Alison Sudol, who is (for all intents and purposes) A Fine Frenzy. In addition to playing piano and providing the vocals on Oh Blue Christmas, Sudol is credited as a co-producer of the EP, so this is very much the work of A Fine Frenzy.

“Blue Christmas” is presented as an up-tempo track. While the intriguing, poppy version is distinctly different from the mournful, moody Elvis version, it pretty much guts the emotional resonance of the song. There is nothing blue about the sound of Alison Sudol’s vocals, so the tracks comes out sounding disconnected; like she does not know the meaning of the words she is singing.

Musically, A Fine Frenzy creates a very different track with their reinterpretation of “Winter Wonderland.” Sounding more like a vocal exercise at points than a fully realized song, “Winter Wonderland” is enriched with guitars and a trumpet that give it a very rich sound. The slower, more contemplative version of the song sounds more like the winter wonderland at night than the familiar, sunny, tune.

The first of three original tracks on the EP, “Redribbon Foxes” is a guitar-driven song that has a musical protagonist who is much more moody than the instrumental accompaniment would seem to indicate. Combating the materialism of Christmas, Sudol sings “For love doesn't come in boxes / Nor truth in a crowded shop / Those red ribbon foxes are not so easy caught / But the search it never stops / For faith doesn't come in boxes / Nor God in your silver cross” (“Redribbon Foxes”). Any song that riles against holiday-themed commercialism is decent in my book, but it is hard to imagine that “Redribbon Foxes” will be the argument that finally changes the nature of the modern holiday season.

Upbeat and poppy, “Winter White” is unlikely to be a new Christmas classic. The song is overproduced, even glossing over Sudol’s usually exceptional soprano voice. She sings a little lower than usual on the track, but the percussion and guitars overwhelm her vocals. The song, which is moody with lines like “The smoke of memories in my eyes / The real misleading kind / It comes in winter white / In holiday disguise / To sabotage my mind” (“Winter White”) is a rare “angry about Christmas” track and while it’s a nice twist on the usual holiday song, the use of “god damn” in it pretty much means A Fine Frenzy is singing for adults and angry teens only.

The penultimate track, “Wish You Well” has a good intent, but an awkward execution. “Wish You Well” is about an estranged sister and brother who are meeting up for the holidays. While the sister, the musical protagonist, has the desire to reconnect – “. . . I still love you brother / But I don't know what to make of you / When I don't know you anymore” – the brother “sit[s] by your plastic tree / And tell your friends you've no family” (“Wish You Well”). The song has no resolution, at least as a musical story, and that makes it more moody than inspirational.

Of the covers, “Christmas Time Is Here” is the most obscure track. A Fine Frenzy presents a vocally literal interpretation of the song. Instead of the lonely piano that accompanied “Christmas Time Is Here” in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Sudol’s voice is beautiful (her soprano opening to the song sounds a lot like Heather Nova’s voice!) on “Christmas Time Is Here” and she emotes well on the song. Her interpretation of the song, however, does not truly make the song her own or redefine it.

A Fine Frenzy gets good marks for originality, but Oh Blue Christmas is missing something on the commitment front. Alison Sudol does not commit to a full-length album or to making a truly memorable holiday recording. The covers are original, but a serious mixed bag for the direction
A Fine Frenzy goes with them and the songs unique to the album are hardly going to be new holiday favorites.

The best track is “Redribbon Foxes,” the low point is the incongruent reinterpretation of “Blue Christmas.”

For other holiday albums, please visit my reviews of:
The Gift - Kenny Rogers
Midwinter Graces - Tori Amos
Wintersong - Sarah McLachlan

4/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Fine Frenzy Fizzles With One Cell In The Sea, An Erratic Debut

The Good: Voice, Lyrics, Duration.
The Bad: Music, "Bonuses"
The Basics: Barely worth listening to, A Fine Frenzy's debut grew on me over many listens, but is a tough sell, even to a lover of up and coming female pop-rock artists.


When I first heard One Cell In The Sea, I had no idea who A Fine Frenzy was. However, I heard the single "Almost Lover" at a time when I was able to renew my interest and support for emerging female artists. Yes, having a minimal disposable income allowed me to purchase compact discs and that has led me to debuts like Little Voice by Sarah Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson's Girls And Boys. As part of my cross country trip to Las Vegas that year, I treated myself to a brand new (to me) c.d. by a new artist. So, while at the Mall of America, I spent some time interrogating the poor clerks at Barnes And Noble about various discs I came across there. That is where I found One Cell In The Sea and the truth is, I've already sold it out of my collection. A Fine Frenzy shows potential with the disc, but Bomb In A Birdcage (click here for my review!) held up better with multiple replays.

But that summer when I heard One Cell In The Sea, I ended up doing what I never do, which was purchase a c.d. based on a single track. I watched a music video for the song "Almost Lover," by A Fine Frenzy, which is the band for Alison Sudol. I was shocked at the lyrical quality and the vocal strength and given how frenetic the Mall Of America can be, I was surprised by how truly captivating the experience was. So, I found the lone album (at the time) by A Fine Frenzy, One Cell In The Sea and I purchased that. Despite my strong desire to support emerging artists, especially female pop-rock artists, this experience has reminded me why I usually am so very conservative in my compact disc buying habits.

With fourteen tracks clocking in at 61:51, One Cell In The Sea appears to be very much the creative vision of Alison Sudol. Sudol appears to be the consistent, driving force behind A Fine Frenzy, as she wrote or co-wrote all fourteen songs. She provides all of the primary vocals and most of the background vocals. As well, she plays piano or keyboard on several of the tracks. While she does not take any production credit on One Cell In The Sea, she is listed in the liner notes as contributing "Creative Direction." So, it seems that Ms. Sudol's A Fine Frenzy is very much under her control. This means that she takes most of the credit and blame for the resulting work.

One Cell In The Sea is brilliantly written, terribly repetitive, extraordinarily well-sung and utterly lacking in a hook to bring the listener back for multiple listens. The first listen - which is usually a sacred experience for me - occurred while driving. I was awake, eager, and driving with my mother from Minnesota to South Dakota and I was convinced it was not as bad as she grumbled when she finally could not remain silent any longer. The truth is, the album is not bad, the lead singer probably does not need a boyfriend (my mother had some serious issues with the moodiness of the lyrics), but my mother might have called it right with being repetitive and a little on the dull side.

A Fine Frenzy lacks the advertised frenzy. There is a deep sense of emotion that is expressed in the lyrics and vocals on much of One Cell In The Sea, but at the end of my eighth listen, I have no idea what the emotion is. Okay, it is alienation, at least through much of the album, but even that is not consistent and the songs that are not about alienation and the desire to develop a protective shell around oneself are utterly unmemorable.

Fortunately for A Fine Frenzy, many of the songs are memorable about healing and pain and the feeling of being young and alienated. The track that got me into the album is actually a wonderful expression of pain and loss from the near-miss of love that is almost never explored in pop-rock music. She develops what appears might be a love song, then crashes it apart with lyrics like, "Your fingertips across my skin, / The palm trees swaying in the wind, / Images / You sang me Spanish lullabies, / The sweetest sadness in your eyes . . . I'd never want to see you unhappy / I thought you'd want the same for me / Goodbye my almost lover / Goodbye my hopeless dream . . . So long my luckless romance / My back is turned on you / Should have known you'd bring me heartache / Almost lovers always do" ("Almost Lover"). The song is sung plaintively and with a sense of loss that is almost unparalleled for a first single. In that way, A Fine Frenzy stands out and if "Almost Lover's" sad cooing had not been the first single released off the album, it would have been notable as the one that deserved to be. It is emotional, insightful and illustrates a lyrical talent that most starting artists do not have.

A Fine Frenzy also has a great lyrical ability when it comes to metaphor and imagery. In creating a sense of desire for isolation and protection, she writes, ". . . The rangers stream / Out of their cabins / They are the hunters, / We are the rabbits / But maybe we don't want to be found" ("Rangers"). The song makes a statement that is compelling and clever without being whiny or even melancholy. She makes the idea of retreat seem like a desire to be with someone else as opposed to fleeing from everyone else and her voice makes it into an anthem for staying inside for the day. She makes other rousing tunes with "Liar, Liar," "The Minnow And The Trout," and even the album's opener "Come On, Come Out." The thing is, the potential of that first track remains largely unmet when the album collapses into mush in the second half.

On the later tracks, there is a greater sense of repetition and after "Liar, Liar," none of the lyrics sparkle with the same ability or imagery as the earlier ones. The result is a collection of songs in the latter half of the album that seem like filler; indeed, one suspects the reason that A Fine Frenzy's complete lyrics are not printed in the liner notes is to prevent the listener from discovering just how many times Sudol sings the title "Hope For The Hopeless" in that song. It could be an anthem for some sort of telethon retrospective, but it is singularly one of the most musically and lyrically boring tracks I have ever heard on a debut album. What isn't lyrically repetitive in the second half is utterly unmemorable. After eight listens (the ninth finished as I write the review) I could not tell you how "Lifesize" or the album's finale "Borrowed Time" sound or relate to the rest of the tracks because they were so completely unmemorable.

Vocally, Sudol has talent. Alison Sudol has a beautiful soprano voice and she has generally impressive range. She goes a little lower on "Lifesize" and she shows an ability to go high and soulful on tracks like "Almost Lover." And when she is not infusing her vocals with the type of self-absorbed melodramatic emotion that often characterizes youth, she is impressive and genuine, creating an air of quiet desperation and need. Her voice, when she finds her own voice, is beautiful and soulful and illustrates ability that makes it easy to see how One Cell In The Sea was produced and released.

Unfortunately, there are musical moments where Sudol seems to sacrifice her own voice for what we've already heard from other artists. On "Last Of Days," A Fine Frenzy seems to want to be Tori Amos, going high soprano, lone piano and almost indecipherable for its ethereal quality in the beginning. And while I enjoy the clever and very unique lyrics to "Near To You," it sounds like an early Sarah McLachlan track.

And yes, the music on One Cell In The Sea is a little limited in that most of the tracks are a lone woman and her piano. We've heard that before and A Fine Frenzy actually has little to contribute to that sound that we have not already gotten from the likes of McLachlan, Fiona Apple or even Norah Jones. Musically, this is a painfully dull album that leaves the listener with little or no impression of the artist as a musician.

The kicker for me was that A Fine Frenzy has fallen into what I can only consider a marketing ploy and this new band is going to bear the brunt of my wrath for that. So many artists try to generate interest in their work through slightly enhanced c.d.s that unlock exclusive content on-line and One Cell In The Sea does that with exclusive videos and five exclusive demo versions of some of the songs from the album. Well, I'll be the first to say, I am sick of this type of b.s. promotion. If the songs exist and you want us to have them, put them on the damned c.d. I'm shelling out money for the disc, wow me, fill it up! I don't want to have to work for additional tracks. I don't want to have to use my valuable time on-line to hunt down music I could be listening to already if you'd just put it on the disc I shelled out money for. There is certainly the capacity on One Cell In The Sea for most (if not all) of those bonus tracks and it is annoying, wasteful and pointless to have those who are just discovering an artist or who like an artist enough to shell out money for the disc to have to work for the additional material. It also screams of either narcissism or focus-group, data gathering in a way that is artistry corrupted by capitalism. But the short of it is, it is annoying to have extra steps to get to music one has already paid for and if One Cell In The Sea's musical lethargy is an injury to the listener, the bonus material being off-disc is the insult.

And that is enough to knock this debut out of the "recommend" slot. There is some hypocrisy here in that I kept my copy of One Cell In The Sea for about six months before getting rid of it - there are about five tracks that I had truly fallen in love with - but it is a tough sell as an album. In fact, I already suspect that if there ever comes a career for A Fine Frenzy that survives this debut, if those five tracks are ever on a "Best Of" album, this will be a happy jettison from my collection. It is too erratic an album and does not give the listener enough that is truly worth writing home about to purchase.

The best track is "Almost Lover," the low point is the terrible repetition of "Hope For The Hopeless."

For other works by female artists, please check out my reviews of:
Natalie Imbruglia - Left Of The Middle
Dar Williams - The Honesty Room
Sophie B. Hawkins - Right Beside You (single)

5.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Bomb In A Birdcage Reignites My Interest In A Fine Frenzy!

The Good: Great vocals, Musical diversity, Decent lyrics
The Bad: SHORT, Some of songs do sound remarkably similar.
The Basics: A truly inspired sophomore album, A Fine Frenzy returns with Bomb In A Birdcage, which is wonderful pop-rock driven by inspired feminine lyrics!


Back in January, I had the good fortune to divert from my Artist Of The Month (who had been Reba McEntire) and I turned my attention and ear to another redhead, Alison Sudol. Sudol released her second album under the “band” name A Fine Frenzy, in late-August of 2009 to almost no fanfare. The upbeat pop single “Blow Away,” which was intended to launch the album commercially was buried as most pop-rock stations play hip-hop, Country-pop and were inundated at the time with Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. It’s too bad, though, because Bomb In A Birdcage is a surprisingly good album and one that I enjoy more and more as I become more familiar with it. That is the opposite effect that A Fine Frenzy's debut, One Cell In The Sea had on me. One Cell In The Sea was weakened because it truly was an album built around one fabulous single with a monotonous tone pervading the overall sound of the album.

But with Bomb In A Birdcage, A Fine Frenzy overcomes any potential sophomore slump by providing an exceptionally diverse album where no two songs sound quite alike. The unifying aspect of Bomb In A Birdcage is Sudol, her voice and her lyrical prowess. A Fine Frenzy has a richer sound on Bomb In A Birdcage, but even with the track to track diversity this is very mainstream pop-rock. The album follows well in the tradition of Tori Amos (no, not just because of the vibrant red hair of the singer-songwriter) and Fiona Apple with the whole “one woman and a piano” sound. Still, the songs on Bomb In A Birdcage are fleshed out magnificently with drums, strings (very moody and cool on “Elements”) and even very rockin’ guitars. The energy level on Bomb In A Birdcage is high, but A Fine Frenzy manages to be suitably moody and deep at the same time. As a result, the first listen (I'm on listen number nine now) is actually an auditory experience that is quite extraordinary as track to track, the listener gets an entirely different sound and feel.

With only eleven songs occupying a slight 46:34, perhaps the biggest black mark against Bomb In A Birdcage is its short duration. Both iTunes and Amazon MP3 have exclusive tracks which extend the length of the album (I'm wishing I had done the virtual music thing again the way I did for Imogen Heap’s new album). It’s a slight mark against the album when one considers that Sudol wrote all eleven songs and she performs the primary piano and vocals on each song. In fact, the only creative aspect that she relinquishes is the production, but given how she is paired with her previous producer, one suspects this is the musical vision she wanted to release.

On Bomb In A Birdcage, Sudol’s vocals transform from light and whispy on songs like “Bird Of The Summer” to energetic on “Electric Twist.” While opening the album with the fun, upbeat pop number “Wouldn't Do,” she becomes the defiant and strong-willed rebel on “Stood Up.” “Stood Up” is a notable departure for A Fine Frenzy, banging out a song that is powerful and has the anger of social reform put to music encapsulated in every line and note Sudol sings. But early on in the album, songs like “New Heights” and “Happier” characterize A Fine Frenzy as one of the day's leading pop divas . . . if only people were listening to her. Unfortunately, with the general commercial apathy toward Bomb In A Birdcage, A Fine Frenzy is unlikely to take its rightful place in the charts, unless Barnes & Noble customers suddenly start driving the marketplace. Ten years ago, A Fine Frenzy would have been huge.

As it stands now, the instrumental accompaniment on Bomb In A Birdcage makes it an out-of-place album in today's commercial marketplace. The album is mostly moody ballads that do embody the “one woman and a piano” sound, but virtually all of those songs enrich the basic piano and vocal combination with noticeable percussion and strong bass. The combination of the lower guitars and Sudol’s soprano make for a compelling sound which has the ability to oscillate greatly between dangerously moody (“Stood Up”) and fun and energetic (“Electric Twist”). There are annoying similarities in the instrumental accompaniment between “New Heights” and “The World Without,” as both are heavily-produced tracks with banging pianos.

Vocally, A Fine Frenzy is very much Alison Sudol. She has a forthright and articulate soprano voice and unlike many young women who seem to want to simply illustrate how high she can sing, A Fine Frenzy is characterized well by lyrics that the listener can actually understand. Each and every song, no matter now moody or produced the instrumental accompaniment is, features Sudol’s natural voice (though it is altered at moments for “Stood Up” to have a mechanized sound that is purposeful given the themes of the song). And it is clear that Sudol is classically trained and has a great voice. No doubt, Sudol’s vocals on “Beacon” would be compared to those of Amy Lee . . . if only she had Evanescence’s audience base!

Lyrically, A Fine Frenzy's Bomb In A Birdcage tackles more than just the usual pop-rock topics of love and loss. In this album's world, relationships are complicated and the lyrics reflect that. The album is instantly disarming with the storysong “Wouldn't Do” and it is charming to open with fun lines like “If we were children I would bake you a mud pie / Warm and brown beneath the sun / Never learned to climb a tree but I would try / Just to show you what I'd done / Oh what I wouldn't do / If I had you, babe, I had you.” But this is somewhat deceptive for the depth of the remainder of the album. On other songs, A Fine Frenzy loses the fun of the early relationship and delves into complexity in relationships or loss.

Throughout, A Fine Frenzy has a decent sense of imagery to the songs and there is a rare poetry to most of the songs. When Sudol sings “You show up like a hurricane, all hungry-eyed and weather-stained / The clock forgets to tick and I the same / I died the day you disappeared, so why would you be welcome here? / Ride the wind that brought you back away / No you can't come in . . . / I cannot stop my rebel hands from pulling out the pots and pans / I left you in the cold until you shook / You're gentle now, but I recall / Both tender fire and bitter squall / A history so deep it hurts to look” (“Elements”), it is hard not to feel a wrenching in the very heart. Still, this is not childish emo music, instead, A Fine Frenzy keeps the same level of diction with completely different emotional resonance on “Happier.”

It is a rare thing that I come up with an album I am enjoying so very much, but cannot muster up the energy to figure out a superlative track and I think that speaks well of Bomb In A Birdcage. Anyone looking for a strong female singer-songwriter with a unique and diverse sound will find A Fine Frenzy's second album delivers that. Those who were more neutral to One Cell In The Sea will find this fixes the problems that album had and moves the artist forward. Become the audience the band needs; with progress like this, A Fine Frenzy is poised for a perfect third album!

The only song that did not grab me enough to be stuck in my head for a while was “The World Without.”

For works by other female musical artists, please check out my reviews of:
Dar Williams - The Honesty Room
Sophie B. Hawkins - Right Beside You
No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom

8/10

For more music reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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