Four Island

Wow, this certainly has been a posty week! I'm going to bring this lovely week to a close with another musical review! The last one was rather fun to do and there's this new album I've been listening to that I've just been itching to force everyone to listen to.

Can you guess who it is? Interestingly enough, the hint is the OTHER suggestion from Blogging About (last time was Haunted by Poe, which has to do with House Of Leaves). That's right, Imogen Heap. But, not really. Sort of. I'm reviewing the album Details by Frou-Frou!

Frou-Frou is a musical duo consisting of Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth. They only released one album (between Imogen Heap's first and second solo albums) called Details, way back in 2002. What I find odd, however, is that my Imogen Heap-fangirlness hadn't pushed me into listening to this album sooner. Quite odd. I actually knew a bit of their work, too: they covered the song "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler (which was placed on the Shrek 2 Soundtrack), which I liked before I even knew who Imogen Heap was, and I started listening to "Psychobabble" off this album at some point last year, but for some reason neglected to listen to the rest of the album.

I think the reason for this is that when I thought of Frou-Frou, the song "Let Go" came into my head. Which is odd, considering that I only the first line of the chorus: "So let go, so let go". For some reason, that line really annoyed me any it probably put me off listening to the album. I finally listened to it, though, a few weeks ago and was so very happy I did. It was like Imogen Heap releasing a new album because, really, this IS her. And it is awesome.

So, like last time, I'm going to make a list of all of the tracks on the album and rate them one at a time. However, this time I'm not going to try to "interpret" them, like I did last time, seeing how badly I failed at that. :P Anyway, here we go!

1. Let Go - As stated earlier, I used to really despise this song. I really don't know why. Perhaps it was because I only knew the first line of the chorus. Anyway, once I started listening to the entire thing, it quickly became one of my favorite songs on the album. The entire thing is rather mysterious and exciting and the last two lines of the chorus (It's so amazing here. It's alright / 'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown) are sure to bounce around in your head for days. 5 stars
2. Breathe In - Another favorite of mine, this song, unlike Let Go, is rather bubbly and effervescent. The chorus is amazing, easy to remember and will, like the "da dayum dun dey" hook that sneaks in towards the end, keep you singing this song for a while. 5 stars
3. It's Good To Be In Love - This song enters with a foot-tapping beat similar to "Get You Off" by Fefe Dobson. Next enters Immi with some beautiful lyrics, which get even better during the pre-chorus and chorus, where the vibrant background comes to a crescendo. The song comes to an end with some vocals, some well-played instruments and a classic fade-out. A great song. 4 stars
4. Must Be Dreaming - An (appropriately) surreal song with verses that give a sense of running out of time, but an abrupt change of direction when it comes to the choruses, which are undoubtedly upbeat and high. Amazing song. 5 stars
5. Psychobabble - As stated earlier, this is the first song I heard off of this album after it was suggested to me by Pandora some time late last year. Because of this, I've heard it quite a lot and, as a result, am sadly quite tired of it. However, with it's dark themes and engaging music, I can't deny that it's a good song. 3 stars
6. Only Got One - A chirpy song about living your life. Shoot, I "interpreted" it. Anyway, an okay song with a repetitive chorus which really engages you at the second verse onward with the supporting beat and the hook "Liiiiife!" 3 stars
7. Shh - A somewhat dark song with jumpy, upbeat verses and opposingly mysterious, yet beautiful, choruses that draw you into the song with their amazing music and equally amazing vocals (Don't make a sound / shh, listen). This song is also similar to "Wild" by Poe in that about half of it is song, and the other half is instrumental with effervescent vocals thrown in. My favorite song on the album. 5 stars
8. Hear Me Out - A moderately slow song that picks up at with it's singable chorus. I say "moderately slow" as if it were an insult, but I rather like the occasional slow song. 4 stars
9. Maddening Shroud - A very upbeat song that relies less on Immi's electonica music style than the rest of the album. The song is saved, however, by the addictingly singable lyrics. 4 stars
10. Flicks - A very electronic song, in contrast with the previous song, that is instead hurt by the fact that I really don't know what's going on in it. 2 stars
11. The Dumbing Down Of Love - Frou-Frou closes the album with a slow, quiet song backed with a piano rather than synthesizers and beats. While not quite my style, the song is quite beautiful and the chorus does have a quality to it that I find quite good. 2 stars

Yay! That was fun! Anyway, if we average the scores together, Details by Frou-Frou rates 3.8 of 5 stars! Wow, that's the exact same score I gave to Haunted by Poe last time. Interesting.

Anyway, Details by Frou-Frou is an amazing and I really recommend to everywhere, especially those who share my taste in music (you know, the OMG IMOGEN HEAP taste :P). I hope you've gained something from this article! Yay! Bye! :D