Depressed? Neurotic? Teenaged? Welcome to your Bible and Goddess.
Written: Feb 06 '04 (Updated Feb 06 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Innovative, addictive production (trip-hop-meets-acoustic), erudite lyricism and a pure, waifish voice.
Cons: The lyrics will puzzle on first listen,& a few tracks fail to capture the imagination.
The Bottom Line: Catchy but clever, dreamy but derisive, "Revolution In Me" is an absorbing depiction of a consistently fascinating young woman. Well worth checking out.
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| kookytree's Full Review: Revolution in Me - Siobhan Donaghy Movies |
If you’re British and under twenty, you’d have to have been living under the proverbial rock for the past four years if you’re not at least vaguely familiar with the cautionary tale that is Siobhan Donaghy’s musical career. The key songwriter and lead singer of the original Sugababes line-up, her scruffy indie kid leanings blended surprisingly well with Keisha and Mutya’s urban cred, creating a band that managed to appeal to both subcultures. However, it was clear from the start that pallid, sensitive Donaghy was the runt among boistress alpha-chicks K and M- the Sugababes were originally established in primary school by the terrible twosome as a duo, and it was only after a chance meeting at a party that a thirteen-year-old Donaghy joined the line-up. The fact that, two years later, she won lead vocals on breakthrough single and modern classic ‘Overload’, caused intense friction between the Babes’ pushy parents, and London Records –the home of the Madchester revolution ten years earlier- were clearly unsure how to market the genre-hopping teens. The result was a domestic commercial failure despite gushing reviews, which only aggravated the escalating arguments and rank-pulling within the band further. The tension climaxed during a promotional tour of Japan in August 2001, during which Donaghy up-and-left the band half way through an interview, telling the others she was going to the toilet. The last anyone saw of Siobhan was her rushing alone through a Tokyo airport, tears streaming down her face. The Sugababes were promptly dropped by London Records whilst, to add insult to injury, Donaghy was kept on as a solo artist. It was assumed the Babes were history and would never be heard from again …
Two years later, and the Sugababes are one of Britain’s most successful and credible pop acts, with a brand spanking new member, a deal with a company who ‘get’ them, and two more massive albums decorating their CVs. Donaghy hadn’t done any interviews since that fateful time in Japan, but rumours were trickling through the media that she was over her subsequent breakdown and was finally working on solo material. This was confirmed by a feature in the perennially hip ‘The Face’, in which Donaghy dismissed her explosive Babes departure with the sentence ‘we just weren’t getting on’. She toured the country under the moniker Shanghai Nobody (an anagram of her own name), went down well at the rock-centric Glastonbury Festival (whilst, in genius strategising by the organisers, performing at the same time as her ex-band on a different stage), had a top ten single in ‘Overrated’, and put out her debut LP ‘Revolution In Me’ in late September. It flopped. Badly. To be fair, only a few copies were put out and it sold out, but there’s a suspicion that London sees itself as too bloody cool to bother promoting a nineteen-year-old lovely with mainstream appeal. This is a shame, because ‘Revolution’ (mainly produced by he of Portishead fame, Geoff Barrow) is a superb combination of enticing hooks, intricate melodies, introspective lyrics, and a vaguely ‘alternative’ perspective. In the league table of teenaged British singer-songwriter females, she’s far and away superior to Katie Melua, but falls just short of the incomparable Amy Winehouse.
Hooded, sleepy eyes streaked with kohl, the porcelain, alabaster complexion of an archetypal English rose, and tumbling, shocking-red hair, Siobhan is every indie kid’s wet dream. She looks like the love-child of Tori Amos and Beth Gibbons, a physicality mirrored musically on ‘Revolution In Me’, which proposes a meeting of guitary acoustics with lashings and lashings of trip-hop, glossed over with gleaming pop appeal. Her voice has always been rather willowy and watery, but it has a vulnerability that borrows a certain elegance even to her flaws. There’s a hollow flawlessness to her vocals that lends itself beautifully to the numbed depression of her content. It’s at it’s most striking on the chorus of the title track- her high-pitched assertions melt like butter, weaving themselves around the brewing malevolence of an eerie choral-monk chant and the hyperactive rhythm with sinuous ease. Fans of ‘One Touch’ will be pleased to know that the layered, achingly pretty harmonies of that album’s vocals are frequently repeated here. A good example of this is ‘Nothing But Song’- her voice’s fragile delicacy enhancing the sophisticated lyrics, which muse over how she as an individual willingly becomes insignificant through expressing herself through the eternal conduit of music. That doesn’t actually do the many allusions and facets of the words justice, which only shows how delectably complex Donaghy as a songwriter is.
“Let loose this faceless tribune; Induce that place all our own/
In every stronghold or commune; Anyone, anyone/
I'll be gone 'til I'm gone; Whatever it takes to greet this longing/
Let these ancient tones replace me; Said I'll be gone 'til I'm gone/
Am I to blame?; The womb of wrong and illusion/
What keeps me sane?; Nothing but song.
Despite the often-dense abstractness of her lyrical expression, Donaghy is at her best when she simply swoons under the harsh, crushing sunlight of teen existence. It’s this directed despair that creates her best material- the standouts being lead single ‘Overrated’, and the anthemic battle-cry of dejection that is ‘Little Bits’. ‘Will I ever loose…these old Catholic blues…that direct my shoes?’ she muses moodily on the former, and the soaring heights of emotion that characterise the chorus convey that desperate search for the-answers-to-the big-questions that torment many an existential teen with sardonic contempt. She throws questions at a God she doesn’t believe in, and wails at her own helplessness and ignorance.
‘And the paaaain’s overrated. Composed? Well I don’t know, do you?
And the chaaaains, so serrated. And the proof? Well I don’t know, do you?’
‘Little Bits’ pounds with urban alienation, though it’s a little too unsubtle to be comparable to Portishead. The accusative chorus of ‘You tie us up in little bits of misery’ sums it up, and though it’s very nearly perfect, the middle-eight is too floaty to blend into the pace of the song as a whole, and it’s a little too poe-faced for my liking. The wry ‘XY’ is a definite highlight, mainly due the expertly crafted melody/hook that ducks and dives through the kooky clang of the sample and fluttering, addictive Spanish guitars.
The production on ‘Revolution’ is clean, direct, consistently inventive and quietly eclectic. Softly melodic guitars, turntable scratches, releases of Timbaland hisses, metallic, clanging percussion and a faltering beat blend to make a sublime whole on ‘Nothing But Song’, whilst whimsical calypso drums play against a petulant, fat beat on ‘Faces,’. The economic basslines that haunt almost every song on ‘Revolution’ provide a steady base for Siobhan’s escalating vocals to drip from. Occasionally, though, the diversity doesn’t work- most notably on ‘Dialect’, where the squelching menace of the verses’ trip-hop beat jars against the metal guitars of the chorus. Equally, the production on the title track –admirable as it is- drowns out and distracts from the melodies of the actual song, and drags the swelling momentum of the rhythm back. It feels like it’s heading for an epic, huge climax, but instead it simply fades out, which is something of a disappointment, leaving the listener frustrated. Elsewhere, as on flop second single ‘Twist of Fate’ (a victim of London’s clunky ((read non-existent)) promotion- it charted at #52), the production is more conventional- upbeat, jangly power-guitars all the way. Indeed it’s bizarre that it failed considering it’s the most radio-friendly of the set, though the beautifully constructed feminine acoustics of ‘Man Without Friends’ gives it a run for it’s money. ‘Iodine’, though (effectively the third single, though it was released free of charge through Donaghy’s website, spurring on rumours that London are poised to drop her at first opportunity) is a little too middle-of-the-road for it’s own good- it could be the work of any number of soft-rock radio-favourites. This, I'm sure you'll agree, is not a good thing.
Perhaps the best thing about ‘Revolution In Me’, though, are the lyrics. Many of them are confusing and even nonsensical on first listen, but as the songs reveal themselves, the words become multi-layered works of art; clever, eloquent and articulate. It’s refreshing to hear an album that improves and changes so much through repeated listens, and lyrics than require time and attention for your brain to chew over, particularly considering the person responsible for them is so young. ‘Revolution In Me’ is a quiet meditation on the psyche of a sensitive, dreamy teenager –one who is deeply cynical but desperately wants not to be- and in that respect, it works wonderfully. It’s remarkably consistent, and the perhaps overly-conceptual lyrics are balanced expertly by alluring, melodious hooks, and a keen grasp of pop-smarts.
Song Titles and Ratings:
Nothing But Song- 5/5
Man Without Friends- 4/5
Overrated- 5/5
Little Bits- 4/5
As You Like It- 3/5
XY- 4.5/5
Suasex- 3/5
Twist Of Fate- 5/5
Faces- 5/5
Dialect- 4/5
Revolution In Me- 4/5
Iodine- 3/5
Related reviews:
Sugababes- Angels With Dirty Faces
Sugababes- Three
Portishead- Dummy
Recommended:
Yes
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kookytree
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Reviews written: 52
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mais lindo que michael jackson!
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