It seems like an eternity since MTB’s debut Quixotic. Well, it is five
years after all. Having built her reputation with trip-hop pioneer Tricky,
she now enlists Gnarls Barkley supremo Brian ‘Danger Mouse’ Burton at the
controls.
It falls somewhere between Morcheeba stylings (MTB sounds distinctly like Morcheeba’s
Skye..and just occasionally Cerys Matthews) and pop quirkiness (Bjork comes to
mind), but not that whacky.
Her second album takes some getting to know, but as I’ve found after several
rotations, it gets under your skin. Martina says of her music, "Music is as
much about challenging the audience as tapping into the creative flow…I’m
interested in using music as a way of exploring the emotional layers in life."
She adds, "Brian is a huge Anglophile, and the album is very visual sounding.
I wanted there to be a sonic manifesto as well as a lyrical one, and I think
that’s been achieved."
Recorded over three months in LA last year, the production is a sumptuous as
you expect from ‘DM’ fusing psychedelic pop riffs, Hollywood glitz, ambient interludes,
chiaroscuro, and futuristic pop noir. Considering the melting pot, it remains very
much a British album, sympathetically overseen by ‘DM’. It’s a cool synth opening
on the understated groove of Phoenix, and we begin to wonder if it’s all down
to studio wizardry and soulless music. Thankfully it isn’t because catchy
beat-laden single Carnies has a real band feel, though April Groove
disappoints because of the artificiality of the production, but an edgy guitar solo
shatters the illusion.
We hit a high point on the next two. Gorgeous Baby Blue is an out-and-out
pop gem moved by some shifting sticks and textured instruments and the soaring
chorus propelled by MTB’s finest and sweetest vocals. Twanging and echoed '60s
styled guitar introduces trip-hoppy ballad Shangri La boosted by distanced
heavenly backups providing the album with a more widescreen soundscape.
Da Da Da Da is complex and simple in equal parts shifting one way then
the other, but it works beautifully, which must have been a ‘tricky’ challenge
for Danger Mouse. Poison owes much to the '60s as it does to now, a
clever fusing of musical templates.
Happy-go-lucky Razor Tongue is a lyricless synth-based tune, full of
sunny vibes and wiry guitar solos. Complexity resurfaces on Yesterday. Sampled voices,
complex drum movements, ambience, synth-squeals thrown into the pot to prove
she’s no one ‘trick’ pony, and not shy of pushing the boundaries, when she
chooses.
File under: Grower
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Phoenix
2. Carnies
3. April Grove
4. Something To Say
5. Baby Blue
6. Shangri La
7. Snowman
8. Da Da Da Da
9. Valentine
10. Poison
11. Razor Tongue
12. Yesterday
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
