Bringing the Eighties Back - In the Best Possible Way
Written: Jun 11 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: It's a well-rounded collection of melodic songs with tight arrangements.
Cons: "Professional Suicide" and "Oh My" are half a notch weaker than the other songs.
The Bottom Line: "Ladyhawke" is a refreshing and well-crafted debut album that lovingly incorporates the stronger sides of Eighties music while throwing out the negatives.
floatingcity's Full Review: Ladyhawke [Digipak] by Ladyhawke
Imagine Lady Gaga with fewer synths, more guitars and no affected pretentiousness, and you come quite close to describing Ladyhawke, the persona of twenty-something New Zealander Pip Brown. Working within the recent Eighties revivalism trend, her critically acclaimed, self-titled album is a hugely refreshing set of New Wave-styled songs drawing influence from the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Nicks and various Nineties alternative acts, and is one that deserves to reach a wider audience.
Part of what makes “Ladyhawke” so enjoyable is the way in which it sounds like the product of someone who genuinely loves and understands good Eighties music. Rather than ride on the ironic hipster train or sink into a nightmarish realm of macho guitar, reverbed-to-death drums and three-note keyboard riffs, the album instead chooses to combine its electronic and organic elements around a solid base of melodic songwriting. The result is a record that could be comfortably played in a dance club or on pop radio, while possessing enough attention to detail to be rewarding when listened to alone on a pair of headphones.
On first listen, I would say that two tracks really stood out to me, and they remain my personal favourites. “Magic” gets the album off to a tremendous start, echoing Cyndi Lauper’s “Money Changes Everything” not in sound, but in the way that it thunderously steamrolls over all opposition. Based on a undulating programmed rhythm, it quickly pulls in sampled chants and brisk keyboard lines before launching into the main verse and chorus melodies, both of which are very memorable (and the little tricks to the arrangement – such as the handclaps at the end of each chorus line and the fantastic synth solo in the bridge – are the icing on the cake). “My Delirium” is even better; a frantic dance-rock tune with a full percussive sound courtesy of both live and electronic drums, which builds to a frenzied refrain amidst all kinds of tasteful synth bleeps and wailing guitars. It’s an excellent song, and single-handedly raises the album above most of its contemporaries.
Fortunately, “Ladyhawke” manages to keep the consistency up for most of its duration, with every track falling into place after two or three spins. “Manipulating Woman” is a strong second song to hold your attention after the whirlwind of “Magic”, with a great bass-line and another chorus hook that’s sure to take permanent residence in your brain (who’d have thought that something as simple as stressing the first part of each sung syllable could be so insanely catchy?) Elsewhere, “Back of the Van” is a charmingly awkward tale of insecure teenage fumbling (“you set me on FIRE!”), while “Better Than Sunday” and “Another Runaway” offer more thumping, irresistible dance fun.
Since most of this record follows a similar pattern (which is by no means bad), it’s good to see that the slower numbers also work. “Love Don’t Live Here” is comparatively minimalist for most of its duration – with quiet drums and a guitar riff leading the way – but then throws in a rich synth line and multi-tracked vocals around the two-minute mark, briefly pulling back before everything swirls together into a blissful coda. Finale “Morning Dreams” is also gorgeous, employing a few ‘epic’ guitar portions that are on just the right side of cheesiness. However, the song is also where the Stevie Nicks influence is present – I’m guessing that Ladyhawke has listened to Fleetwood Mac, as the main, Fifties-ish ‘metronome’ structure that serves as its principle musical motif has been pulled directly from the Christine McVie song “Only Over You”. Luckily, “Morning Dreams” is a good composition in its own right, and it’s at least better to be inspired by an obscure album track than play off a well-known hit.
If anything, the one thing that helps the record succeed for me is that I only dislike two of its thirteen tracks (though “Dusk Till Dawn” comes close, spoiling amazingly squelchy verses with a half-baked refrain that fails to provide any catharsis). The first is the brittle “Professional Suicide”, which has an uninteresting arrangement and annoying ‘na-na-na’ vocals (though the lyrics are intriguing. The song is mainly content with taking jabs at a failed go-it-alone musician, but I can’t help but wonder if Madonna's the target of “I see you had a hit in ’89 / Too bad we all don’t age as good as wine”). The other weak link is the UK bonus track “Oh My”, which is pleasant but lacks the distinct focus of the rest of the album, sounding rather clumsy to my ears. Still, these numbers are less ‘bad’ than ‘beneath the standards of the others’, meaning that there’s not a true dud in sight.
Overall, I would say that I’m very impressed with this debut, having not grown tired of it after nine-odd months of intensive listening. It’s a great example of a respectful Eighties homage that simultaneously manages to rise above that tag, being a worthwhile recording its own right, and one I’d have no qualms in recommending to anyone interested in this style of music. 4 stars.
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