Cons: Many average tracks, trite lyrics, inconsistent
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a female-led band with at times decent songs, K's Choice is a great discovery. Paradise in Me does have a few flaws though...
lambchops's Full Review: Paradise in Me by K's Choice
Before a girl I knew in college exclaimed that K’s Choice songwriter and vocalist Sarah Bettens had the sexiest voice in the world I knew the Belgium-based band as the creator of the smoothly wicked Not An Addict. Led by a brother and sister duo (Sarah and Gert Bettens), K’s Choice gained quite a bit of critical lauds after the release of 1996’s Paradise in Me.
Paradise in Me was actually the second album for the band initially called simply The Choice on the European release of Great Subconscious Club [1993]. Soon after the two signed with Epic, they changed their name and recorded their second album. Touring with Alanis Morissette and the first annual Lilith Fair, K’s Choice was most known in the U.S. for the single Not An Addict. That particular track spent over a half a year on Billboard Heatseekers and got plenty of airplay on college alternative and modern rock stations.
In reality, Paradise in Me [1996] is nothing more than a morphed version of post grunge rock. While the album sold quite a few copies, many of the fourteen songs lack the same appeal as Not An Addict. Although it’s important to note that there are other decent tracks spread pretty evenly throughout the disc. What at times separate the duo from the herd are Sarah Betten’s soft-yet-hard vocals and her ability to at times craft songs that are both radio ready and not particularly deep.
Not An Addict, the appropriate first track on the album, isn’t really that representative of the album as whole although it certainly pushes listeners to check out the rest of the tracks from K’s Choice. The track is an anti-drug song masquerading as a drug song with blatant references to euphoria and shooting up. But in the end, of course, the lack of pain and carelessness don’t prove enough to put a band-aid on the problems. But the message is really secondary. I’m entranced by the understated yet complex bass guitar and Sarah’s pensive chanting. She possesses a smoky, enchanting voice that is perfectly suited to the track. Here’s a brief sample of the lyrics:
It's over now, I'm cold, alone
I'm just a person on my own
Nothing means a thing to me
Oh, nothing means a thing to me
Also notable is the jangle-pop-rock song A Sound That Only You Can Hear. Once again, the guitars and drums are very understated. I enjoy when Sarah actually sings a line or two. When she simply spits out a word here and there the track becomes difficult to stomach and hence lacks the appeal of some of the other tracks.
Mr. Freeze is mysterious, complex, and in the end lovely. On songs like this, K’s Choice most reminds me of Garbage and Veruca Salt among other less talented rock bands featuring strong female lead vocals. The lyrics in this particular example are somewhat of a cliché (a loveless love), but the way in which Sarah handles the words is perfect. She could lament about dirty carpets and I would be just as interested.
The acoustic melody of Wait nears perfection. If the Bettens’ were to choose just one direction for their music to go they would be best off with folk rock as in Wait. I can imagine a dimly lit and smoky club featuring Sarah on stage with just a microphone and her brother behind with just his guitar. Sure the track isn’t musically revolutionary. Rather, it is just simple and gorgeous and for listeners like myself I couldn’t hope for more.
Quickly the album takes a turn back toward alternative rock with Gert and Sarah harmonizing neatly on the title track, Paradise in Me. The frenetic beat mixed with craftily layered rock elements, the song is undoubtedly one of the most infectious on this sophomore effort. The one complaint I do have is that it’s very brief and could have easily been expanded without causing the melody to become monotonous.
Old Woman is certainly the band’s version of punk rock. Of course, Sarah’s voice lightens up the overall feel of the track and the instruments aren’t quite as heavy or as wild as one might expect from a traditional punk track. Again, I really could care less about the apparent message presented and instead prefer to appreciate the song for it’s musical merit over lyrical.
My second favorite track is the acoustic/live recording of Something’s Wrong. I enjoy the band’s use of humor and the harmonies. The fact that it’s live makes no difference at all. The cheers really do add to the overall appeal of the track, in fact from what I’ve read it’s common that K’s Choice ends a set with Something’s Wrong. Here are a few of the lines that sum up the entire feeling of this album and this particular offering:
When a canary drives a tractor, something's wrong
When your president's an actor, something's wrong
When your jacket's plagued with dandruff, something's wrong
If you think that this song matters, something’s wrong
There’s nothing particularly wrong with Paradise in Me. In fact, I really can find some amount of merit in each track although few strike me as particularly remarkable. At fourteen tracks long it but could have probably been cut to around 10-12 without destroying the integrity of the band or the album on the whole. I do recommend K’s Choice and Paradise in Me first to fans of the band and second to fans of similar acts like Garbage, Veruca Salt and Poe among other strong female voices. You won’t be disappointed with this album but may not really love it either.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Track Listing:
1. Not An Addict
2. A Sound That Only You Can Hear
3. White Kite Fauna
4. Mr. Freeze
5. Song for Catherine
6. To This Day
7. Iron Flower
8. Wait
9. Paradise in Me
10. My Record Company
11. Only Dreaming
12. Dad
13. Old Woman
14. Something’s Wrong
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Following the release of Paradise in Me, K’s Choice continued to tour throughout Europe and within the United States. 1998’s Cocoon Crash was slightly more popular than the band’s other albums although suffered from the same inconsistencies as Paradise in Me. Almost Happy, the band’s fourth album, was released in Europe in 2000 but didn’t hit stateside until last month.
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