The title of Alu’s second album, Lobotomy Sessions, is a fairly blatant indicator that this chanteuse has no intention of entertaining comfortably familiar pop conventions in her music. Lyrics that dabble in realms of mortality, consciousness, and the supernatural effectively transport the listener, along with a unique array of foreign string and wind instruments, to a timeless, dark and magical underworld. While ubiquitously eerie and sultry, her songs are frequently carried by playful tempos and jazzy melodies. Alu’s beautiful and ethereal voice is the distinct leader of the soundtrack to this fantastical journey.
Alu’s songs find the delightful and romantic aspects in otherwise morbid territory. The uplifting “Casket Salesman” is a catchy “graveyard love” song and a perfect accompaniment to the image of a girl in a flowery dress snapping her fingers while skipping through a grassy cemetery as she she sings, “Baby won’t you bury me?” Another plea for affection, “Black Cloud” also employs gloomy lyrical incentive, although the tone of this one is less ironic. Alu’s voice echoes and weaves above a slow marching snare drum beat, low piano, and accordion.
“Buzzin’ In My Brain” is the first and and easily the most well put-together song on the album. While its tap dance friendly jazz-groove rhythm is not quite paralleled by any of the following nine tracks, spicily intriguing vocals and and avant-garde vivacity remain a constant. “Recluse,” with its resonant sitar and finely integrated percussion is perhaps the most chilling and tragically lovely piece. This song also includes a brief instrumental interlude whose fiery and stirring string instruments create a Middle Eastern ambiance.
Alu’s lyrics reflect a restless disenchantment with societal constraints and conformity. A yearning for some form of escape wields stylistically experimental sound and quirky subject matter, including vampires and absinthe dreams (”Circus Cosmos”), space excursions in search of extraterrestrial existence (”Martian Rendezvous”), and the conundrum of femme boys stealing lipgloss and panties (”The Metrosexuals” a somewhat oddball swing track).
Aside from a somewhat Portishead-like vocal range and quality and the style of a lyrically darker and absurdist Fiona Apple, there are not many comparisons that can provide an accurate depiction of Alu’s music. Alu, who appropriately shares her name with a Mesopotamian demon of the night, has created a charming goth-jazz sound of her own.
There will be a CD release party for her new album, Lobotomy Sessions, at Temple Bar on July 15th at 10:00 pm. If you are 21+ and want to check it out, tickets are $5 and can be bought at the door. For more Alu, check out her myspace.
Photo by Robyn Von Swank via myspace.com/alu
Subscribe to our RSS Feed And checkout our coffee competition to win a $30 gift voucher to your favourite coffee shop : click here
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
0 responses so far ↓
Subscribe to our RSS Feed and leave a comment to enter the commentator of the week competition and win a $20 Amazon.com gift voucher.
Leave a Comment