Frenchy’s Fracas

General Description
Artist/Band: José González || ||
Album Title: In Our Nature
Year: 2007

Talented singer..

How I Got Into This Music
Funny thing, I’ve ignored this album for almost a year. I didn’t mind his vocals on the Zero 7 album The Garden, but it wasn’t something that got me all enthousiastic to go listen to other stuff from this guy. Hey, that’s how things work sometimes in my head!
Anyway, coupla months back I heard a small part of his cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop and that triggered quite a lot of interest on my part. So, I had a listen.

Reviews: || || ||
Videos: ||
Have a listen on:

Tracks that got my attention:
How Low
Love this opening track: a single guitar and those deep, dubbed vocals give a great threatening/sad mood to this song. Walking happily drunk through a minefield.

Killing For Love
Love the guitar, annoying repeating bit at the end.
Great lines:
You’ve got a heart filled with passion.
Will you let it burn for hate or compassion.

In Our Nature
Sweet title track. Another simple anti-violence song.

Teardrop
Just listen to it (the vid’s a bit crappy, but still..)
Here’s the Teardrop video at youtube:

It’s brilliant because Gonzalez doesn’t try to better Elizabeth Fraser’s vocals, he makes the song his own..

The Nest
Beautiful vocals, mellow track.

Cycling Trivialities
Beautiful vocals, mellow track.
(No, not a copy/paste error..)

Conclusion
It was fun (re-)discovering this version of Teardrop. I mailed friends of mine about it as if it was one of my greatest achievements in finding this song and telling them about it. But.. They already knew the song and had the album.. An ego is such a silly, fragile thing, heheh..
Back to the album. I played it for a month without getting bored by all the syruppy sweetness and that’s something in my book. For this review I played it all again and still find it enjoyable, something I really didn’t expect.
Like the album and the artist!

Rating:

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General Description
Artist/Band: Jazzanova
Album Title: In Between
Year: 2002

Electronic, Warm and Grooooovaaay..
 
How I Got Into This Music
Can’t remember.. Damn, it’s the old age and all that apfelkorn all those years, heh..
Ehm.. Yep, must be around the time of my Discovery Of New Music in 2001: heard Groove Armada and Zero 7 for the first time that year. Jazzanova are one of those great additions to that list.

Review at Answers.com || Google Search: Reviews of In Between || Concert dates

Tracks that got my attention:
L.O.V.E. (and you and I)
Damn.. Still breaks me into little pieces. Just love (no friggin’ pun intended) the whole setup: that sample (almost sure it’s Andy Williams) and those gazillion different beats! On a later album they even produced a track with just those beats on it - incredible experience..

No Use ft. Clara Hill
Nice song, sometimes a bit too slow, but on a lazy summer afternoon? Perfect laidbackness

The One-Tet ft Capital A
Funky, groovy, jazzy and some quality raps

Fade Out
Nice dramatic interlude

Hanazono
Starts out nice, but gets a bit messy afterwards, but.. Production value is very good

Mwela, Mwela (Here I Am) ft Valerie Etienne
Other way around, intro’s not so great, but I just keep waiting for those incredibly beautiful and powerful vocals to start and then.. it’s heaven!

Keep Falling ft. Ursula Rucker
Great, haunting vocals and lyrics

Cyclic
Love this interlude, just the whole contrast of darkness and light, setting up the next track

Another New Day
Excellent track for traveling!

Place In Between
Meh.. Not impressed

Soon ft Vikter Duplaix
Great voice, soulful and classy

Dance the Dance ft Doug Hammond
Oooooooooooooooo… One of the best tracks on this album: it’s soundscapes, incredible vocals, breaks, beats, instruments and production

Sub-Atlantic
Meh..

Glow And Glare
80’s dance and soul instrumental - weirdly nice. Especially like the build-up

E-Ovation
Funny

Takes You Back ft Desney Bailey
Large variety of pleasant beats and great vocals, also heavy on the retro

Wasted Time ft Vikter Duplaix
Perfect mood ballad i.e. a Shut The Curtains And Let’s Get Nasty ™ classic!

Conclusion
Funny thing this band.. The music isn’t always easy or dancable, sometimes even a bit annoying. But 85% of the time you get great audiophonics combined with soundscapes, moodlands and everything you need to chill, relax, travel, sleep, dream and make love to. Great album! Saw that they’re performing in Amsterdam at the end of this month - time to check them out..

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Seeing and listening to Opgezwolle and Zero7 on TV, I kinda regret not going to Lowlands this year.. Oh well..

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General Description
Artist/Band: Zero 7
Album Title: The Garden
Year: 2006

They’re back!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Read my other reviews about Zero 7.. A bit late with the review, due to great weather and getting used to this album ;o). Hieronymus Fox just told me today that he finally got used to the album and also started nagging me about my lack of updates (with friends like these, who needs a mother-in-law? heheh..)

Album credits at artistdirect.com || Google Search: Other reviews of The Garden || This album’s lyrics from the nice people at Alwaysontherun.net

Tracks that got my attention:
Futures
Seriously reminds me of the Ghost Ship In A Storm track on Zero 7’s effort for AnotherLateNight.. Singer José González sure has that same Jim O’Rourke quality

Throw It All Away
Sia’s back with a great track, funny lyrics, Summertime beach drive!

Seeing Things
Annoying ringtone..

Pageant of the Bizarre
God I love this track! It’s the children song melancholy thingy working perfectly and Sia’s great voice.

You’re My Flame
Sometimes this track gets on my nerves, sometimes it just gets me up and going. Love the lyrics:
You’re just dodging all the friendly fire
You’re never dressed in the right attire
You miss the start of every game
You’re my flame

Left Behind
wow.. Life’s little fucking mysteries: how can such a simple setup of a song be so incredibly beautiful and touching? Well? WELL?!??!? Uhm..
Dunno either.. Just know it’s absolute sunshine.. Thank you, Mister González, the best one minute and fifteen seconds ever spent in my life.
Scared to think away the cheer
Looking back in a mirror
It all becomes clear
The views are not the same
I see sun, you see rain

Today
Another one of those tracks that totally baffle me: a cheap Casio wannabe keyboard sound, but it still works!

Your Place
Henry Binns’ doing the vocals on this track and it’s eerie and lovely. The second part of this song is a four minute instrumental that takes you to all kinds of places, soundscape-wise, but mostly it takes you back to the Zero 7 Sound (if there is such a thing) of their previous albums.

Crosses
Another one to outrun the Energizer Bunny! Great buildup of tempo, those thick violins, sweet and soothing vocals: this is one of the ultimate cityscape songs..

Waiting To Die
Heheh.. Puts a smile on my face, this one.. Cloud and Silver Lining, this one.. Bright Side Of Life, this one..
Look what a terrible mess that we’ve made
The sun beats us down as we search for the shade
And, yes, it is true, death is everyone’s fate
But we’ve made it this far, it’s time to celebrate

Conclusion
Took me quite some time to review these guys, sorry about that. What can I say? They’re back with a great album: not exactly what you’d expect after the first two records, but that a very good thing coz I was kinda afraid I’d get bored after a while. No earth-shattering changes (well, besides the absence of three of their vocalists, including Mozes), but just enough to make you notice, just enough to make you wanna sit down and really, really listen. Serious listening to easy-listening music is kinda contradictory, but they get away with it. Love it!

Rating: (nuff said..)

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General Description
Artist/Band: Mozez
Album Title: So Still
Year: 2006

Incredible vocalist!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Discovered this artist’s talents by way of the Zero 7 albums, he sings on some tracks and always completely blows me away with that voice: Mozez. (tag:mozez)
So, when I found out he had a solo album on the market, So Still, I just had to find out if it was any good..

Album credits at artistdirect.com || Google Search: Other reviews of So Still

Tracks that got my attention:
Feel Free
Great intro, that voice flowing sweetly..

Baby Blue
Moody, Zero 7 flavour

Trouled Mind
Reminding me a bit of Marvin Gaye here and yes, unavoidable and true: a bit like Seal

Somehow Now
Uplifting and positive feeling

Fuzz
Heheh, yep, the Nightmares On Wax track reworked with Mozez’ vocals, great background vocals/choir

Venus Rise
Love the intro and the sci-fi theme, great track!

Beautiful Day
Zero 7’s Henry Binns repaying the favor on this track

Conclusion
It’s my fault.. I kinda expected waaaay too much from a solo production by this artist. I was so impressed by and in love with this guy’s voice. I forgot to prepare myself for the worst let-down of all: it’s not a bad album, it’s an okay, not bad album. Sigh..
Things sound just a bit too much alike, not a lot of diversity.
The voice? Don’t get me wrong, it still is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard: some Marvin Gaye, a little bit of Al Green, awesome.
If you like stuff by Seal, you’ll probably love this album. Just not my taste, sadly..

Rating: (damn those high hopes..)

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