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Track Listings
| 1. This Story |
| 2. One Second Of Love |
| 3. She's Always Watching You |
| 4. Mind & Eyes |
| 5. In The Dark |
| 6. Memory, Man |
| 7. Unearthly Delights |
| 8. No I Don t |
| 9. Autograph |
| 10. Clive |
Product Description
Review
Ramona Gonzalez, of course, has thus far enjoyed the success of neither, but her second album as Nite Jewel (and debut for Secretly Canadian) would, in a just world, be the toast of not just the tasterati – which a combination of amateurish production and Ariel Pink acolytism secured some years back – but also a frequent fixture on Radios 2 and 6 and the top 10 to boot. One Second of Love is arresting from the outset, Gonzalez's airily velveteen vocals cascading in with a similar invitingly icy inflection to St Vincent on Surgeon while luscious, Eyes Without a Face-esque keyboard washes burble by on their way to a skippily abrupt, if recoverable, meltdown. And, having ensnared via such a swiftly deployed barrage of brilliance, she continues to sprinkle spells galore across her path.
Realistically, of course, having the almost Robynian electro-plated angstsome vignettery of She's Always Watching You rub up against the sophisto-classicism of In the Dark should by rights be disastrous, to say nothing of Memory, Man's casual collision of muscular bubblegum and dream-pop dramatism. But while, lyrically, much of the album may paint its maker as more enthusiastically ingenuous than circumstance would be expected to allow (at least prior to the gorgeous happy ending Clive), there's little doubt that, musically at least, she's thoroughly in-charge-ly ingenious. Yet she does so without pandering, without ever rendering herself unsympathetic, and with a delirious disregard for the limitations of lo-fi that her towering, strident performance exiles to the sunset. Reborn as a triumph of candour, clarity, and considerable charm, Nite Jewel's become precious in the best possible sense.
--Iain Moffatt
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
Customer Reviews
Now also in thrall to mid-90s pop and radio-friendly R&B some might be immediately and understandably sent looking for the exit - and the questionably smoove groove of "Autograph", for example, which wincingly brings to mind the lounge-funk of The Brand New Heavies, may well just do that. Doing little wrong, "Mind & Eyes", the bleary-eyed "Clive" and "Memory, Man" all nevertheless remain largely forgettable too.
Much, much better though, the atmospheric thrust, fizzy bass drops and spectral soul of "No I Don't" elevate the Nite Jewel endeavour to a different plane. Earlier, the title track makes the most of minimal 80s pop, combining some whip-crack drum programming with decade-specific synth creaks, earning some extra cool points as it goes by having the in-demand Julia Holter provide a simmering background vocal. Taking a while to make sense amongst such company, but enriching the running order immeasurably all the same, there's then a late shift in tempo and delivery for the frosty alt-folk of "Universal Mind".
The crisp, offbeat pop of "She's Always Watching You" sounds not unlike Dirty Projectors getting to grips with some funk-pop best-of. Alluring and dreamy, the "In the Dark" ballad comes underpinned with a demure percussive clap and, nestling not a million miles from the late-night Italo-disco of Desire and Chromatics, wouldn't have been out of place on the recent and much-lauded Drive soundtrack.
This all said, One Second Of Love leaves you with the lasting impression that the next Nite Jewel record needs a strong collaborative presence. If there were an open casting and say, Beck, or David Byrne, one of the new breed of producers like Clams Casino, or, hell, even Björk came through the doors strong-willed quality control in place, then the world may yet receive the great album of which Gonzalez is capable. For now we'll simply have to make do with her diamonds in the rough.
Advised downloads: "No I Don't" and "In The Dark".
I read in a past interview Gonzalez say she wanted to focus on the vocals more in her next release and that's where this fails miserably.
The appeal Nite Jewel had for me wasn't necessarily in the murky '80s lo-fi ethereal sound of her music - which I loved - but in her mysterious indecipherable Liz Fraser-esque vocals and curiously vague lyrics - when I could understand them.
"One Second of Love" is the album where Gonzalez is saying "I'm a singer!" and she isn't bad. It's just that a lot of the overall appeal of the music is now gone - especially on the slow tracks which are the worst offenders here. I would have loved it if she muddied up those vocals, reverbed them out a little and then push them into the background.
I'm all for artists growing and experimenting with their sound with each release but now the very thing that made Nite Jewel so cool is missing here. Making awesome music is her forte but having her vocals front, center and crystal clear isn't. I found it better when the vocals were an actual element in the overall sound.
The title track really is the best song and a smart choice for the first single. Yet after repeated listens it's the only track that I remember.
If you're a fan of her first album "Good Evening" or her ep releases, especially "Want You Back", then you may be disappointed.
3 stars for the title track alone. If you're a huge fan of Nite Jewel (which I still am - Ramona I'll see you at the Crocodile) then it would serve you well to check out Maria Minerva too.
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