Muruch

Siobhán Donaghy’s sophomore solo album Ghosts was released by EMI/Parlophone on June 25th. Siobhán was formerly a member of UK girl-pop group Sugababes and recently collaborated with Patrick Wolf (which is how I came to know of her) on a remix of her single “So You Say”. This is not the dramatic eccentricity of Wolf, nor is it as fluffy as Sugababes. Instead, Ghosts falls somewhere in between. There are catchy pop melodies and dance beats aplenty, but the vocals and music are multi-faceted enough to make it appealing.

Songs like “Don’t Give It Up”, “So You Say”, “Sometimes”, and “Make It Right” have an airy girl pop vibe, with Donaghy’s whispery vocals layered over electronics. The lovely tone of her voice becomes more apparent on the sweet breeze of “There’s A Place”.

The humorously cursed and lovelorn traveller’s saga “12 Bar Acid Blues” is by far the stand out track. Siobhán gracefully balances a tricky speak-sing verse style and melodic chorus over electro-beats, pulses, and warbles.

“Medevac” lifts the pop sound up a bit with noisy sirens and a more prominent beat beneath Siobhán’s ethereal vocals. And the retrograde finale “Ghosts” is indeed haunting.

You can download a free mp3 of “Ghosts” by signing up for the mailing list at Siobhán Donaghy’s Official Site (left side of main page).

Siobhán on MySpace
Parlophone Records

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Patrick Wolf’s third album, The Magic Position, was released on May 1st, and I have to say that I love it. The new album is almost cheery compared Wolf’s previous recordings. The Magic Position layers the best elements of his romantic and tragic troubadour style with electronic beats, synthesizers, and intricate string arrangements. At times the new material reminds me of New Order or even Duran Duran, but there’s still a melancholia to Wolf’s sound that adds enough depth to his songs to keep them from sounding like a total exercise in New Wave nostalgia.

The Magic Position slides open with the dramatic drum beat and shimmering strings of “Overture”, followed by the buoyant title track. “The Magic Position” mingles a string quartet with glockenspiel, handclaps, foot stomps, ukulele, dulcimer, and trombone among other implements of noise into what is by far Wolf’s most catchy pop melody to date.

“Accident & Emergency” has a very faint hint of industrial in its vibrating synth-pop. The slow-burning piano of “The Bluebell” serves as an introduction to “Bluebells”, which resurrects the synth-pop with a dash of fireworks. The midway tracks like Marianne Faithfull guest spot “Magpie” and “Augustine” return to the somber tone most often associated with Patrick, before “Get Lost” shakes the circus tents again with electro-beats, handclaps, space rockets, and arcade machines. And the album quietly closes with the twinkling instrumental “Finale”.

I remember when I first fell in obsessive love with Patrick Wolf’s music – particularly “Ghost Song” – back in 2004-05 and I tried my best to promote him here on this blog and on my old Livejournal music community Audiogasms (predecessor to Audiography)… until stories of Patrick’s distaste for the internet, blogs, and file sharing began circulating along with other strange tales about him.

In a post here in May 2005, I wrote: “I hope that the fanciful stories of his life and inspirations that are now floating about don’t drown out his talent. There’s a fine line between the eccentricity of Björk and the dementia of Tori.” Judging from the brouhaha over Patrick’s recent outbursts on stage, my prediction that his persona would overshadow his music seems to have come true.

But Wolf or at least his management has apparently changed their stance on “New Media” with this album, so hopefully his antics won’t do too much damage. Instead, I hope that this new found appreciation of blogs will help catapult his career as it has his old tour mates Arcade Fire. Wolf is currently supporting Amy Winehouse on tour.

Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position (mp3)

Patrick Wolf’s Official Site
Patrick on MySpace

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