Me And Armini [VINYL]

This review is biased - I'm already a fan. However, nothing, even my predisposition to enjoy anything new from Emiliana Torrini, could have prepared me for this astonishing album. 'Love In the Time of Science' was a great album, with Roland Orzabal's distinctive touch very evident without distracting from the songs or from Emiliana's vocals. 'Fisherman's Woman' was a bold departure from the multi-layered production of the previous album and felt much more 'personal', simple and with some beautiful songs and vocals, along with equally beautiful instrumentation courtesy of Dan Carey. 'Me & Armini' is yet another departure, and takes Emiliana into another league entirely. As a musician myself, I'm always on the lookout for songs and artists that surprise me. This album is packed full of moments of inspired performance, creativity and 'surprises' whilst still feeling very much an Emiliana Torrini album. No two tracks are the same, but Emiliana's vocals and lyrics run through it like a thread, stitching it all together. It is tempting to over-use words such as 'stunning' 'extraordinary' 'breathtaking to try and describe this album. Instead, just take my advice: if you really love music, buy this album - you won't be disappointed.

This is Emiliana Torrini's 6th album although only two were released outside Iceland. Me and Armini really bridges the gap between them with some great pop numbers and some low key acoustic tracks too. Newer to the mix is the more rockier edge in places though and it suits her voice and style.

"Big Jumps" was a great choice as a single and reminds me of summer time fun (it also reminds me of "Unemployed in Summertime" however there's absolutely genius in "Jungle Drum" which sounds like a 1960's rock anthem and will be the next single. Its very catchy.

Acoustic lovers will enjoy "Bleeder", "Hold Heart" and personal favourite "Beggar's Prayer" which has a beautiful vocal section in the middle with just humming which effects you in a brilliant way.

"Gun" shows off a more edgy side to Emiliana we've not seen for a long time as its full of atmosphere and "Ha Ha" is a darker shade of Torrini too. "Dead Duck" is a fantastic piece of studio trickery as it basically goes through all the album sounds in one song.

I would recommend this to any Torrini fan no matter which album of hers you preferred and also to anyone who likes their pop a little more involved than the usual chart toppers.

Emiliana Torrini's last album was all wistful folk. Before that, it was all equally wistful electronic pop and the creepily pretty closing song to "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

But before all that, she dabbled happily in everything from jazz to J-pop, raw-throated indie-rock to the blues -- and she did a pretty good job at all of them. And while her fifth album "Me and Armini" doesn't quite explore EVERYTHING she's done before, Torrini slips back comfortably into some of the musical niches she has already carved. Her delicate pop is flavoured by tinges of other styles and genres, and sometimes those other sounds (as in "Gun") overwhelm it completely.

"Somebody's got a long way to go/You're not sitting by the phone no more... Mmm, are we going crazy?/It's not fair to say we wasted time/In my view we just used it all up..." Torrini sings wistfully over a mellow folk-guitar. But she tries a totally different approach to a no-letting-go-love in the titular track -- it's an upbeat jazzy song with a vaguely stalkerish sound ("Some people think that/I'm heading for a meltdown... This I know/she doesn't love you like I do/yes it's clear/she'll never love you like me...").

A number of these songs stem musically from the bittersweet folk of her last album "Fisherman's Woman" -- the haunting seaside sound of "Birds," the prettily malicious "Ha Ha," and a string of low-key, folky melodies that rely mostly on Torrini's vocals and a guitar. But she mixes up the sound a little -- some of these melodies end with a thin mat of woobly synth, and the acoustic pop number "Big Jumps" is anything but wistful and low-key. It's all sunny joyousness and fun ("Go on, make some BIG JUMPS, BIG JUMPS/you afraid to break some bones?").

And then there are some songs that, stylistically speaking, belong to "Me and Armini" alone. These tend to be a bit darker -- there's the rhythmic organ-keyboard of "Heard It All Before," and the squiggling, fast-paced rocker "Jungle Drum" ("Hey, read my lips/cause all they say is kiss kiss kiss kiss!/No one ever stops/my hands are in the air/yes I'm in love!"). And "Gun" is a masterpiece of quietly distorted guitar, with Torrini murmuring a tale of despair, infidelity and gleeful murder of a wife's lover.

Musically, Emiliana Torrini doesn't really try anything new in "Me and Armini," because she's dabbled in almost every kind of pop except symphonic metal (and for all I know she's tried that too). But she does polish up the whole electro/jazz/pop sound to near-perfection while still blending it with folky acoustics, and takes a few musical risks as well. Not that I'm complaining, because pretty much all of those risks pay off and leave you awaiting more.

Acoustic guitar takes center stage in this album, strumming gently like a forest creek under Torrini's vocals, with a few exceptions like the electric riffs in "Jungle Drum" and "Gun." And Torrini drapes those deceptively simple-sounding guitar melodies in expansive extras -- jazzy drums, patches of heavy distortion, swathes of shimmering synth, piano and soundclips of tinkly windchimes. One of the most memorable: "Heard It All Before's" thumping organ-keyboard melody getting swallowed by clashing drums and ghostly riffs.

Torrini's girlish, chilly elfin vocals are often compared to Bjork, but she frankly sounds a lot more innocent and emotional. And her songs are nice as well, tending to focus on the mysteries and pain of romantic love, and even when she sings "ha... ha... ha.... hear me laughin'" at a former lover's trouble, she sounds mournful. But she can turn on the joy just as quickly with happy bouncy calls of, "Hey there sunshine lift my heart/I know life is long but it goes so fast/I love you never feeling old/You never bought the rubbish that they sold!"

With, I might add, the occasional foray into creepyville -- that gleeful front-row seat to manslaughter and the weird obsession with Armini are chilling at times, no matter how pretty her voice is ("Stop your shaking, sweating, whining and regretting/You're making a scene that is going to get you caught...").

"Me and Armini" allows Emiliana Torrini to expand her folk sound and polish it to a jewel-like hue, with some darker facets and delightfully sweet love songs. Definitely a good listen.