Twenty-seven year old Olivia Lufkin (more commonly known as simply OLIVIA) has had it a little hard in the music business. Originally debuting as a member of the Eurobeat-inspired group D&D (standing for "Dance & Dream", I believe), she soon decided to strike out on her own and started a solo career which focused on a much tougher, rock-inspired style. While sales of her singles were respectable, she never seemed to really catch on and, after several singles, an album, a couple more singles (which charted at abysmally-low positions), and a string of four hard-rock-styled mini-albums, Lufkin dropped out of sight.

She wasn't dead, however, and received what many are terming her biggest break when she was hand-picked by the creator of the newly-designed "NANA" anime to sing the series' first ending song. This single, a little pain was the result, and vaulted OLIVIA into the spotlight, selling more than any of her other releases and giving Lufkin her first Oricon Top Ten debut.

Maybe it was the tie-in with the "NANA" anime (based on a popular manga series which had been turned into a blockbuster the year before) that fueled the strong response, maybe it was Lufkin's triumphant return, or maybe it was the quality of the music that is presented on the disc's three tracks, which display a surprisingly-wide range of stylistic influences.

Title track a little pain is, for all intensive purposes, a straightforward pop/rock track. However, from the moment I first heard it, something about the way the song was constructed caught my ears' attention. I think it's the opening: rather than blast forward with walls of crunchy, grungy guitars (as on her mini-album material), Lufkin lets this song gradually build, starting with a simple, repeated guitar line set against a dreamy, slightly ethereal backing of synths that paints a rather-relaxing mental picture in my mind. As Lufkin enters, she takes command of the verses -- oddly enough, in a rather-restrained, simple vocal tone -- and gently makes her way towards the song's chorus; when the song reaches that point, it takes a turn towards a more straightforward rock sound, adding in a (still rather quiet) drum line and some more edgy sounding guitars, but Lufkin never turns the song into a scream-rock fest, instead choosing to express herself through an emotive, slightly-pained performance (heard especially on the final "no need...to cry..." of the chorus) that gives the song that much more of an aura. An electric guitar solo during the bridge almost seems unnecessary, but the layered vocal line that Lufkin lays down there gives it an added effect that makes it bearable as the song nears its close, ending on almost as quiet a note as it began. This is truly one of the most beautiful pop/rock songs I've heard in recent memory, and Lufkin does an awesome job performing it.

The first of the two B-side tracks, tears & rainbows, sounds almost like something that one can find on Lufkin's sister Caroline's album. Opening with a simple, repeated piano line and resounding strings in the background, the song again creates an air, this time of calmness and tranquility, and nothing -- including the tap-tap-tap of a quiet drum line or the brief echoes of electric guitar that appear near the song's end -- ruins that air. Lufkin's performance is simplistic and straightforward -- much like the song -- and at times she even somewhat sounds like her sister, reaching into the heights of her vocal register for the meditative, self-penned lyrics. The track may be slightly boring to some, but it's an exercise in resonant musical beauty.

The disc's final track, let go, sounds slightly like something one might have found on Lufkin's 2003 mini-albums. Grungy, hard-edged electric guitars, a prominent bass line, and a double-helping of drums (one synth set, one real) make up the majority of the song's instrumentation, but some of the more ethereal-sounding elements make a brief appearance in the background as well. However, the track doesn't pay them all that much mind, as it's going for the garage rock sound, and Lufkin's performance here affirms that: during the verses, she's playful but sassy and there's a slight edge to her voice that the other tracks here haven't displayed, but when she hits the chorus, she lets loose, nearly shouting the "LET GO, OH BABY!" that she uses to play call-and-response with her self-voiced backup. It's certainly different, but Lufkin pulls it off and adds even more variety to the music here.

I'm not the biggest rock fan, but I find myself enthusiastically recommending this disc for the sheer fact that the music here is wonderful. It downplays the rock edge at times, but throws it to the forefront at others, and everything in-between works well, too. Lufkin's made a comeback, and I'm glad, because her delicate voice does wonders for the material here. Superbly done.

OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST): "a little pain"
[ CDS | CTCR-40238 | ¥1,050 | 2006.06.28 | 1st ]
[ CD+DVD | CTCR-40237/B | ¥1,680 | 2006.06.28 | 1st ]

01. a little pain [ 5:18 ]
02. tears & rainbows [ 4:48 ]
03. let go [ 3:02 ]

[ http://www.avexnet.or.jp/olivia/index2.html ]

Related Review:

Caroline Lufkin: "Murmurs"
http://www1.epinions.com/content_287376641668

Recommended: Yes