Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Gabrielle Aplin- English Rain Album Review



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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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