English songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Imogen Heap is a one-woman machine. For over 11 years, she has made a distinctive brand of music that is a mix of electronica, experimentalism, electro-pop, and rock.
Sound-wise and vocally, her songs range from the dramatic to the majestic, and contain hints of everyone from Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, and Tori Amos, to Annie Lennox and Bjork. In fact, Heap’s ex-Frou Frou partner Guy Sigsworth co-wrote songs with such noted non-conventional pop artists as Seal and Bjork in the early and mid-1990s before co-producing Heap’s 1998 debut album i Megaphone with Lennox’s Eurythmics bandmate Dave Stewart.
Since then Heap has made three records, one with Frou Frou (2002’s Details) and two more solo full-lengths, including the two-time Grammy nominated Speak For Yourself (2005) and its eagerly anticipated follow-up, Ellipse (RCA/White Rabbit).
Her new album debuted at a personal career-high #5 on Billboard’s 200 chart last month and also debuted #1 on Billboard’s Internet album and Dance/Electronic album charts. When you take a close listen to the album’s 13 tracks, it’s not hard to see why.
To start, the warm electro-pop track “First Train Home” retains the infectiousness of the previous album's hit single “Goodnight and Go” and is an instant album highlight.
Besides being a call-to-action to clean up our planet, “Earth” is an experimental all a cappella track with a digital vocal harmonizer coloring its melodies, much like Speak For Yourself hit “Hide & Seek.” It also contains some of the oddball lyrics Heap is known for coming up with, such as her imagination of “lego land empires.”
The album loses steam for a bit on the calm but largely unmemorable electronic track “Little Bird.” It picks up its perkiness once again with the slightly spooky electro-pop love song “Swoon.”
Ellipse was recorded in various places around the world, including Hawaii, Japan, China, Thailand and at her newly built studio inside the basement of her family’s 18th century home in London, England. The new album's name is a reference to the “elliptical” shape of this house.
“Bad Body Double,” written in Japan, is about looking at oneself in a bathroom mirror one day and not liking the image staring back at you. The sight of healthy and fit Japanese women surrounding Imogen Heap and the sudden realization that her own body was out of shape inspired this album highlight.
Besides its overtly catchy rhythm, it features brilliant production, complete with actual bathroom-sounding reverb for a short stretch early on and a snare drum made via a sample of Heap slapping her own buttocks, according to an interview of Heap in The Sunday Herald in August. (Talk about experimental sounds!)
Article comments
1 - Anna Creech
This is a great album! I've been enjoying it ever since it arrived at the radio station where I volunteer.
2 - R.P.M.
Great review...I bought this for a friend when it came out.
Quick question how did you add the stars? Nice touch! Wish it was standard. Only wish you had added a few songs to sample or a video, but still this was good stuff.
I really like when people cover music they like, I see no point in covering music or a concert if you know going in you don't like it. I appreciate this for going being a fan and giving an honest appraisal rather than someone going in blindly and slamming it with no reference point.
I will def. look out for more of your work :)
3 - Charlie D
Thanks RPM! BTW, I just checked out your site and like it a lot.
Also, I'm very selective with my reviews - I've been doing a lot more sports than music articles lately. Sometimes it's out of curiosity that I review an artist but most of the time I review artists I'm familiar with and like at least a little if not A LOT.
No I didn't have any videos to post but you can sample the entire Imogen Heap album by clicking one of the links at the bottom of this review.
And finally, Blogcritics has a special star rating page that any of us writers can use - that's how I got the stars for my review. It looks really cool - and is probably why a couple of my reviews (including Filter's Anthems For The Damned) were and probably still are linked under the links section of an artist/album's Wikipedia page.
Again, thanks for the compliments. When I write something, I don't do it half-assed. There's no point in writing about someone you like if you're not willing to go all out and make it the best possible article it can be.
I always try to make my next article/review better than the last one. It doesn't always work out that way but it's a worthy goal and am glad people like you appreciate my style.
Keep reading my stuff and other Blogcritics music writers - we have quite a talented group here. :)