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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best album that will never get to No 1,
By A music fan (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Aqualung (Audio CD)
... I bought the album solely on the strength (or shall I say fragility?) of the single Strange & Beautiful. And I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed at first as all the songs seemed to be a variation on the same theme. But then, you don't spend a tenner on an album and then not give it a chance, so I kept listening to it and soon discovered that it's one of those albums that gets better every time. The lyrics are absolutely gorgeous, and the music is hauntingly beautiful. There are no obvious standout tracks, which is arguably a weakness, but it also means that the whole thing is consistently good, and you can listen to it without ever touching the skip button. In any case, I would definitely recommend this album. Be warned - you will be moved, not by grandiose moments of heart-wrenching sound, but by the quiet longing and vulnerability oozing from the piano chords and Matt Hales's fragile voice. And you'll still be listening to it in 20 years' time, because it's not fashionable, so time will not leave a mark on it. Buy it.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple, yet charming debut,
By Simon Essex (Norwich, Norfolk United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Aqualung (Audio CD)
Most people considering this album will be doing so purely on the basis of Matt Hales's stunningly fragile single used on the VW Beetle advert. And well they might, for if they delighted in the earnest and shy vocals, and the sweet and memorable piano melody of 'Strange and Beautiful', then the rest of this fragile album will not disappoint. Aqualung gently usher us through a quiet, yearning hour of music, best likened to floating down a river on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Nearly every track is a softly played, softly sung poem of love, only really shifting the bases a little on the slightly more demanding 'Good times gonna come'. Surprisingly then, this song stands out as one of the most memorable, (along with 'Strange and beautiful', 'tongue-tied' and 'Can't get you out of my mind') set amongst an album of good songs. It may well take a week of playing this album and drifting to sleep, but it really does grow with the same hushed subtlety of each poetic lyric, and soon the album will be a constant refuge. A strongly recommended lullaby of a record, best listened to with a creamy cup of coffee on a quiet evening.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Strange and beautiful,
By alan (Brighton, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Aqualung (Audio CD)
Strange and beautiful indeed. Many of you will have heard the opening track "Strange and beautiful (I'll put a spell on you)" as it is the soundtrack to the current VW Beetle advert that led millions of people wanting to know who sung THAT track. Well, his name is Matt Hales (ex-Ruth, The 45's). This is the debut solo LP by the singer/songwriter and what a debut it is! It is possibly the most beautiful album I've heard since Jeff Buckley's "Grace." And I use the word beautiful in the way it used to actually mean something. If you've been searching for an album so stunning that it could melt your heart along with the polar ice-caps, then this is for you. Be warned though that the tracks are not overtly beautiful like a sunset, they are dark and haunting and the whole album sounds sleepy-eyed as though it is just waking in the morning. "Aqualung" is driven by Hales' incredable voice and delicate piano lines that are intertwined occasionally with the odd sample, triangle, or organ etc. However, Hales has managed to layer the album cleverly so that you pick up on something new every listen yet the songs are not cluttered with sounds. Comparisons with Radiohead and Colplay are inevitable (mainly due to the falsetto moments)...but for once they are not undeserved. There are few artists that perfectly capture the fragility of beauty in its rawest forms (see Amazon review above for quote from "Strange and beautiful"). If you're looking for a truly beautiful album, buy this. Aqualung will melt even the hardest of hearts...This really is one of the ESSENTIAL albums of the year. Although it's slow-moving, in the right mood it's far from depressing. There are moments when you can almost 'hear' Matt smiling. Buy it now or you'll regret it forever!
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