| This Week's Highlights |
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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
DVDs out 9.5.11 |
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@ DVDfever Youtube |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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With things hotting up on Iceland’s financial scene, it’s good to know someone’s got a cool head. That’s 31 year-old Emiliana Torrini, the half Icelandic/Italian beauty who wrote Slow for Kylie Minogue - oops, Kylie. She is best known to film fans for singing Gollum’s Song for the end credits in The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers. She got the job because Bjork was pregnant at the time, also appearing in the film. Me And Armini, her fifth album, (the first three were Icelandic releases only) is a far cry from the bubble gum pop she’s best known for. A one-time recruit of label One Little Indian a decade ago, this is a peculiar hybrid of say Lily Allen and Adele with a smattering of compatriot Bjork (who she occasionally sounds like), though her core template is rootsy folk with a teeny weenie commercial twist surfacing here and there, making this a very special album indeed. Her voice is sharp and crystal clear perfectly matching her masterful songcraft and the sonic soundscapes she carefully texturises her free-flowing songs with. Birds is the first example of her fearless adventures, as the solid and quaint ballad flutters along while the techno-tweaking bolsters an already beautiful track, at a whopping six minutes long. She needs that time to get the best out of the sonics alone.
You can hear more playfulness on the thumping pseudo-rockabilly Jungle Drum. For me, she’s at her most potent when she’s working around her delicate acoustic forays like the simple and achingly beautiful Hold Heart, the fragile, exquisite and mournful Damien Rice-like <>Beggar’s Prayer and closer Bleeder. When she pushes out the boat - Dead Duck – Gun - she’s almost exhibiting Bjork-like off-radar tendencies, but not as whacky. Then she surprises us all with a sublime lovers rock/reggae gem for the cool and swaggering title track. She’s already digitally-released Me And Armini (19 Aug) followed by single Jungle Drum (29 Sept), with little success. Big Jumps IS the one to break the UK….trust me Emiliana ! First it was Bjork and then Sigur Ros to bring attention to the island. Hopefully Emiliana will make it a hatrick, one day. File under: Luuuuverly.
Weblink: emilianatorrini.com
The full list of tracks included are :
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
