Miss Naess, You Gotta Promise To Try Harder Next Time
Written: Mar 14 '04 (Updated Mar 15 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: A few good songs, nice voice
Cons: Boring, not at all original arrangements not to mention annoying drum machines
The Bottom Line: Naess lacks any real direction on her sophomore release. Not just that, it is over-produced and painfully like every other singer-songwriter who calls herself 'alternative.'
lambchops's Full Review: I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll by Leona Nae...
Pensive, bittersweet female singer-songwriters are a dime a dozen. Heather Nova, Beth Orton, Suzanne Vega, Natalie Merchant and so many others operate on the same musical plain. Most of them strike me on occasion, but few hold my interest. Leona Naess certainly falls into that same unfortunate category.
Boasting a dry, even vocal tone reminiscent of Edie Brickell, Naess has to date released three increasingly higher quality albums. Her brushes with stardom have been brief and modest at best. Tours with both David Gray and Eagle Eye Cherry have earned her a following and an appearance on the schlocky teen comedy Whatever It Takes garnered her a minor hit in the form of single Charm Attack. Still fame remains illusive for the London native.
In examining her sophomore release, 2001’s I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll, it becomes clear why to date Naess has yet to gain a large following. Simultaneous scrumptious and yawn-worthy, the album is too uneven for my taste. I really, really want to like it on the merit of songs like Mayor of Your Town and Sunny Sunday but instead am overwhelmed half-baked weight of tracks like album opener Mexico and Weak Strong Heart.
When Naess is at her best she sparkles with creativity and energy. The aforementioned Mayor of Your Town is certainly the album standout. This may seem like a strange choice as it’s peppered with electronic elements and as such is an exception to the album rule. She shows a great deal of soul and skill within the varied elements of the song—alternating fey sing-song vocals and a gutsy rhythmic chant. In fact, I can’t help but be reminded of The Cardigans as fronted by Dido instead of Nina Persson.
Are there other moments of epiphany here? Of course, but they are few and far between. I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll is a catchy track chock full of easy to recall lyrics and melody. Her light and chipper vocals work well with the song instead of working against the whole picture. Also worthy of mention is Sunny Sunday, a modest and slow burning track. Its acoustic quality is relaxing and gentle. But at the same time I enjoy the song, too much of the same thing could prove to be a huge detriment to the album. Blue Eyed Baby and Promise To Try are also nice (but not particularly memorable) offerings.
The songs that remain unmentioned are those that most hurt I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll. I’m particularly troubled by album opener Mexico is too sticky sweet and languid to properly open any album—much less one this mediocre. It just doesn’t do anything to bolster my opinion of Naess. All The Stars attempts to pick up where Mayor of Your Town left off. Naess is clearly attempting to emulate 80’s synth-pop with this drum-machine driven atrocity. Her voice is not meant to be paired with such annoying noise. Weak Strong Heart is just weird. I don’t often refer to things in this manner, but in considering the fuzzed-over drum machines and piano it is hard to think of it in any other way. I just really don’t like the retro lounge feel in any way shape or form.
Still there are other things that reek of over-production. Not just that, Naess seems to have over thought everything. I don’t care what she’s saying, I don’t care what she’s singing about, nor do I particularly care for her style by and large. On this album she just sounds like the whole bunch of female singer-songwriters. If only she’d done something to set herself apart from the crowd maybe I would be drawn to her music. Even as the album draws to an end I am unimpressed—the annoying Boys Like You, the lackluster Hurricane, the boring (not to mention melodramatic) Panic Stricken), and Serenade.
Something tells me that Naess has an ace or two up her sleeve, but on I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll she’s yet to pull them out. Her voice is fine, her songs are average, and her arrangements tend toward the contrived and the uncreative. But that’s not to say I hate this album with a burning unadulterated passion. I just can’t recommend it based on the merits of a handful of songs.
Naess followed up this album with her self titled third release. Fame still escapes her, but it is unquestionably a better and richer effort. My suggestion? Skip this one in favor of that one. You’ll be far better off in the long run. Don’t sully your opinion of Naess by accidentally or purposefully picking I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll up.
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Mexico
02. Mayor of Your Town
03. All the Stars
04. I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll
05. Sunny Sunday
06. Weak Strong Heart
07. Blue Eyed Baby
08. Boys Like You
09. Hurricane
10. Panic Stricken
11. Serenade
12. Promise to Try
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