Album- English Rain
Artist- Gabrielle
Aplin
Toted as the female version of Ed Sheeran, Gabrielle Aplin
has been a rising star of the UK music scene thanks in no small part to her
high profile cover of ‘The Power of Love’ by Frankie Goes to Hollywood that was
featured in the John Lewis Christmas advert. However, despite all the publicity
that surrounds the singer, the question remains as to whether her full length
major label debut will actually deliver the goods musically.
Track 1- Panic Cord
Originally featuring on her 2012 E.P. ‘Never Fade’, opening
track Panic Cord is a mid tempo tune that blends a light, organic pop sound
with melancholic lyrics and a breathy vocal performance. The track lyrically
focuses retrospectively on the end of the relationship where things weren’t
going right, in that the other person was more into the relationship than the
other, and so the individual less in love has cut things off and now is left
with just souvenirs, whilst also contemplating the idea that the problems were
actually there fault. The chorus has a strong catchy quality through the use of
repeated questioning, whilst vocally the light and delicate vocal tone of Aplin
works really well in layering the song with that note of is this the right
thing to do, and the vocal is strong in the way that she never over sings the
song. There is this lack of originality in the sound of the track, but the tone
of the guitar riffs and drums as well as the slight folk rhythms work well in
contrasting with the melancholic tone of the lyrics.
3.5/5
Track 2- Keep on
Walking
The sound of Keep On
Walking has more of a forceful tone than the opening track and also has this
energy of being inspired by old folk styles through the ‘on your way’ moments
that are interspersed in the verses. Whilst the last track was wistful and questioned
the relationships end, here Aplin is standing lyrically firm as she sings of
feeling better now that this man is out of her life because he dragged her
down, and so he should just keep going with the moving on from her. The vocals
are strong and show off a bit of her range a little at the end, but I do feel
that simply because of her vocal tone the song perhaps loses a little of the
drama, and a slightly deeper vocal would have suited things better. The
forceful bass drum really grabs your attention and acts as a good base for the
production, which is flavoured with simple guitar strumming and works well in
the pre chorus moments when the sound is stripped back to just a vocal, which
makes the chorus a little bit more powerful, although a stronger bridge and
conclusion to the song would have made things better.
3/5
Track 3- Please Don’t
Say You Love Me
Aplin’s first proper single in terms of being an original
composition rather than a cover, Please Don’t Say You Love Me shows nicely why
she has been compared to Ed Sheeran, as the song shows off her pop folk
sensibilities and her ability to create a quite breezy and well crafted,
emotionally layered tune. Lyrically the track is actually a sweet tune despite
the title as Aplin simply tells her beau to just not say he loves her because
she might not say it back, as she doesn’t want to rush in, but that doesn’t
mean that she actually doesn’t love him or that the relationship is a waste of
time. The mixture of fragility and sweetness within the strong is strengthen by
the light and smooth vocal tone of Aplin who makes this a great song to chill
to, and the simple nature of the guitar instrumentation and the bass drum just
allows you to really listen to the song, become absorbed in the words, and just
relax.
3.5/5
Track 4- How Do You
Feel Today?
Things are taken into more of a sombre tone with this track
in which the singer lyrically asks the question to her beau of how he is
feeling today, as she has given him her all and kind of just needs to know
where things are going. The chorus is powerful in terms of the simplicity of
the repeated questioning, whilst vocally this is a strong tune in terms of the
lamenting tone and slow emphasis on the lines showing a slightly different side
to Aplin’s voice. The production is strong in terms of the guitar and strings
creating a potent edge of melancholy to the song, although I feel that the
addition of the drums in the production is slightly excessive and means that
the song loses some of its power.
3.5/5
Track 5- Home
Home keeps things on a softer, down tempo tone, but things
are actually more uplifting when you focus on the lyrical content. The lyrics
have a prominent poetic quality, with the use of metaphors being very powerful
and giving a catchy quality to the track, as Aplin sings about how just have to
roll with the punches in life, and as long as you have love in life you will be
home in your heart. The track is very strong in terms of the way that the sound
and the vocals really build, with the vocals being nice in terms of the
harmonisation of Aplin’s voice and some male backing vocals, whilst the final
chorus has a great, almost gospel quality in the way that it builds to this
minor crescendo. Unlike the previous track this song doesn’t suffer in the
production as things are kept simple, with the guitar strumming creating this
chilled rhythm that is built on with the strings that give the song an added
emotional layer, and so by the time the final chorus kicks in with the
heaviness of the strings and the addition of a drum you will be surely invested
in what Aplin is singing.
3.5/5
Track 6- Salvation
Part of the ITunes Ones to Watch for 2013 selection of
songs, Salvation shows of the delicacy that is a staple quality of the singers
work, and she gives us here a track that feels very powerful. However this
track offers a nice bit of variation within the album in the way that the
production is bedded in piano instrumentation rather than a guitar based sound,
and this is a nice change that sounds very good and suits the track in terms of
creating this intensity that is embedded within the song. The strings are also
really great in creating this building sound that brings this sense of true
emotion to the track. Vocally this is Aplin at her best, showing off the fragility
in her voice but also going into the higher ranges of her voice to really bring
across the lyrical message. The song lyrically find Aplin singing of the
greatness of this man who she didn’t want to love with but in the end she has
really fallen in love with and it has been extremely beneficial to her life,
and the song is really nice in that the lyrical content has this pure essence,
although the lyrics perhaps do suffer a little in the latter half of the song
through the repetition that becomes here a tad annoying, though not enough to
make you hate the track.
4/5
Track 7- Ready to
Question
Opening with a heartbeat like beat that acts as the bass of
the song, Ready to Question changes things from the loved up state of the
previous track as the lyrics (like the title would suggest) find the singer
being in this state of questioning what is actually going on with this
relationship, as she just doesn’t know what to think. The song is also simply a
questioning of life in general, and this questioning tone comes out in a strong
way through Aplin’s vocal tone, and the chorus of voices in the chorus gives
the track a bit more of a powerful punch. However, the lyrical content feels to
repetitive and so the impact of the song suffers, whilst the drums and the
guitar in the production just feels like it is carrying the song along rather
than giving us a sound that packs some emotional power.
2.5/5
Track 8- The Power of
Love
Recorded for the John Lewis Christmas advert 2012 and a
cover of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood hit, The Power of Love was the song that
catapulted the singer into the public consciousness. To me this is because she
really makes the song her own and perhaps even betters the original as there is
more of an emotional resonance here. Lyrically the track has a spiritual tone
and is poetic in its lyricism as Aplin sings of how love can really save a
person, and we should make love our goal. The lyrics are strong but are really
elevated by the singers vocal performance, which is fragile but goes powerful
in the chorus through layering and a transition into a higher range, with the
vocal really elevating the songs sense of the range that love has on a person.
The production is also extremely powerful in terms of the simple quality of the
piano melody that becomes grander and potent when accompanied by the strings in
the chorus, and so if you don’t feel moved in some way by this song at some
time when you listen to it I would be surprised.
4/5
Track 9- Alive
The only song on the album to be co-written by the albums
main producer Mike Spencer, Alive opens in a dramatic way with the use of an
orchestra that just builds and is joined by this strong guitar riff. The vocal
performance is a little bit softer but more moody and has a slightly haunting
tone that keeps in line with the previous track, even though the song is
lyrically very positive. We find the singer telling us of how we should just
rely on the now and not worry, and that way you will feel alive. The song is
strong in the way that it has relaxing tone in the vocal performance and the
lyrical message, but the sound of the production is really powerful in the way
that the track builds, with the strings and guitar being joined by powerful
drum rhythms and building towards this final, punchy, electric guitar note.
3.5/5
Track 10- Human
From the moment this track begins it is really powerful and
shows a bit of variation as the song opens with the chorus being sung by a
chorus of voices that makes for a punchy statement. The lyrics are simple but
deep in their sentiment, as the singer tells us to show us that we are human,
as our flaws are our beauty and just show that we are all the same at the end
of the day. Vocally this is one of the finest moments for the singer as her
voice has a sift but smooth tone that builds in power, and the use of
background vocals gives the song a much more stronger tone. However, whilst the
song is vocally strong and the lyrics have a deep simplicity that makes the
song stand out, the production is something that could be better. The
production is strong in terms of the way that it holds back in certain
sections, and the forcefulness of the drums does give the song a more powerful
edge. However the use of a trumpet in the latter sections of the song just
sounds weird and to me really mars the song, and so it seems Spencer just went
a bit crazy there.
3.5/5
Track 11- November
November for me has a dark tone that suits the track in
terms of having this winter feel. Here we find the singer telling her former
love of how she just wants to distance herself that relationship, and how she
used to always love November, but now it just reminds her of bad memories, and
she asks herself the question of how can she forgive. It is another track that
has a nice poetic tone lyrically, with the album’s title coming from this song.
The rich and light tone of the singer gives the song a powerful quality, and
once again the production is really strong in the way that it builds in sound,
although at this point that building of sound does become slightly too
familiar.
3.5/5
Track 12-Start of
Time
Aplin closes the album with a down tempo tune that has an
echoing vocal performance and is a slow burning song. Lyrically the track
employs an array of emotionally powerful images, as the singer finds strength
and light in her life with her man in her life. The song has a powerful
intensity in the way that it builds, with the singer giving is a vocal
performance that feels very emotionally loaded, and although the songs lyrical
repetition of ‘it’s like the sun came out’, we can truly believe in what she is
singing. Spencer does a powerful job with the production, beginning with this
simmering guitar melody that is emotional in sound and has a great dark energy,
and then building into this epic sound complete with extremely powerful drumbeats
and warped, almost potentially disco like rhythm that gives the song a great
final moment of strength.
3.5/5
Final Review
Aplin has produced a good debut album that shows of her
voice beautifully in terms of creating a base for her delicate tone but also
showing off how she does have a bit of vocal power. The songs are structured
well lyrically, with a poetic quality that is very appealing, and producer Mike
Spencer gives us a an acoustic folk pop sound that suits the singers voice and
which at times feels very powerful emotionally. The only real issue with the
album is that there is a slight lack of variation, with songs at times sort of
blurring into one, and so although there is not a really bad song on the
record, I think for her next album the singer needs to change things up just a
little in order to create a fully engaging record.
7/10
Best Track- Salvation
Worst Track- Ready to
Question
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