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Emiliana Torrini Fisherman's Woman Released in 2005 6.2/10 Styles Singer/Songwriter Folk Easy Listening Song Highlights Nothing Brings Me Down Lifesaver Heartstopper |
Emiliana Torrini is the latest artist to emerge from one of music's more recent critical-hotspots, Iceland. Don't expect anything like Sigur Ros and Mum's drifting space-rock or Bjork's Bjork-ness, though - Torinni is a pretty stock-standard singer/songwriter, and favours the usual gentle guitar and sparse backing that the genre tends to suggest. Being an Icelandic singer, who also happens to be a woman, comparisons to Bjork have been unavoidable for Torrini, which is actually a pretty ridiculous comparison, as the two sound almost nothing alike. Even their accents aren't especially similar, so let's do away with that critical cop-out here and now. Another common comparison is Potishead's Beth Gibbons, which isn't very accurate either, but it's becoming clear that this is one of those "strong, distinctive voice" sort of deals. Now we're getting a little more accurate. Torrini's voice is distinctive, but not because it's weird like Bjork or powerful like Gibbons, but simply because it's just really, really nice. There's not much more to it than that - the disarming beauty of her voice is Fisherman's Woman's biggest, and possibly only strength. "Nothing Brings Me Down" is a top-notch opener for the album, and easily one of its best showcases of Torrini's spine-melting vocals. There's a quite gentle, relaxed feel to the song, with it's minimal, acoustic backing and incredibly pleasant coda making it a sort-of quintessential "Sunday afternoon" track. Most of the other songs follow in similar style, with a couple of notable exceptions, such as the bluesy title-track, the slightly edgy "Life Saver" and the lovely, piano-led "Next Time Around." Only a few of the songs on Fisherman's Woman could really be considered to be musically exceptional - "Sunny Road" is a terrific little folk-pop ditty and "Heartstopper" is a love-song sweet enough that its corny lyrics are forgivable. Other than these songs, and those mentioned earlier, the album isn't really anything more than pleasant easy-listening fodder. As such, all of the songs are certainly very likeable, but several are easily forgettable (and a few are more-or-less interchangable). It also doesn't help that Torrini's lyrical ability is a little light (she's a professional pop songwriter, and has written for Kylie Minogue, among others). Her lyrics are never outright bad, but chances are you won't find anything here that's worth jotting down in your notebook. That Fisherman's Woman is still an enjoyable album is a testament to the smart production on the album. The unobtrusive instrumentation allows Torrini's one major asset, that voice, to sit front and centre on every song. Anyone who finds themselves entranced by it (and there'll be a few of you), will be very appreciative that, by a long way, it's the album's most prominent feature. |