Emiliana Torrini - Me AndArmini

Tue 14th Oct, 2008 in Music Reviews

There’s always been such beauty in Emiliana Torrini’s music. Her softer tracks are never understated – rather they are soulful confessions straight from a reflective heart. The more upbeat tracks, then, are light-hearted opportunities to transfer emotional pain into constructive thought. After five albums, Torrini continues to pave a beautiful musical path. Her recently released sixth long-player Me And Armini is another collection of magnificent quaint-pop.

Beginning the record with personal favourite Fireheads, Torrini’s voice shines brilliantly against a minimalist pop melody. Despite the context of the lyrics, you can’t help but manage a smile as the Icelandic beauty laments over love lost. Such is the power of Torrini’s songwriting. Skipping into a more upbeat pop tune, Me And Armini sounds at times like Lily Allen’s Smile. Rather than follow the pop styling of the music itself, though, Torrini adds her own touch of grace and sophistication. Instead of applying conventional libretto to the tune, she utilises a style similar to fellow Icelandic queen of song Björk.

Slowing down to reflect on a more tranquil time, Birds adds a semi-psychedelic pop step to the musical stroll, before Heard It All Before steps up the pace yet again with an upbeat, Italian-flavoured canter. Making a habit out of breaking a steady stride, Ha Ha is a little acoustic number about getting your just desserts. The sliding up and down on the frets complements the subdued delivery of Torrini, enhancing the simple magnificence of the song. Perhaps the poppiest track on the album, Big Jumps, follows. Despite its charm, it seems to fall slightly short of the greatness Torrini can create.

Jungle Drum follows the light-hearted approach of the preceding number, intensifying the dancey sound with funky riffs and Torrini’s beautifully comic vocalisation of the track’s title object. Tales of love and affection are Torrini’s forte, and this song showcases her more vibrant, droll side. However, what goes up must come down, and the sunny demeanour of the past two tracks once again disappears as Torrini shuffles dejectedly on Hold Heart. She continues to linger about with a seemingly detached, echoed tale of love for a lonely man on Gun, contrasting the lower register guitar plucking with her own vocal pitch. It’s similar to the effect on Beggar’s Prayer but with more gloom.

Torrini takes her second last pace with Dead Duck, which manages to slightly jolt you with an electro-psych feel. Finally, with her last step, Torrini waltzes slowly to a charming, viola-accompanied tune in the form of Bleeder. The closing number sums up the feel of the album as a whole – a melancholic journey of love, heartbreak and all those emotions in between.