[October 11th] What I Listen to When I Write

I haven't talked about music in awhile. It's mainly because I know my tastes don't really match with what people I know listen to. But there has not been anything to get me excited as the following two albums.

Nicola Roberts remains my favorite Girls Aloud* member, mainly because I love gingers, and cause Roberts has been the most underused and underrated band member, while the band pursued the pop commercial vibe. Now, Nicola has set her eyes on a solo career and her début is Cinderella's Eyes:

It's one of strongest pop albums I've listened to through 2011 so far. All the songs, but one, are on a never ending loop on my playlist. Her music is very upbeat and pop on psychedelic synth steroids to augment her pleasantly shrill voice. Roberts offers autobiographical lyrics and believe it or not 'KY' and 'open-open wide' are actually lines from one of her songs. Cinderella's Eyes bubbly and quirky nature serves as a natural energy booster and it's a fresh breath of air on the music scene.

Next comes Tori Amos' Night of Hunters. Tori has been coughing up albums almost every year and although some are instantaneous favourites of mine, she kind of lost me, when she released Abnormally Attracted to Sin to sort of redeem herself with Winter Graces. However, her classical Night of Hunters is stunning:

Paul Jessup has told me multiple times that Tori's best work is when she is alone with the piano and uses simple compositions. This whole album is as acoustic as it can come. It's Tori, her piano and a string quartet on some of the tracks. Further treat is having to listen her 10 year old daughter's voice on some of the tracks, which make the songs all the more haunting. As a concept album, the idea of the world and the story Tori wants to tell is accessible and to base all these songs on already existing classical pieces from the masters, genius. You can't not create to this music.

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* To those who have no idea about British pop, Girls Aloud is an all-female pop quintet, which at the moment is in creative hiatus, though I think it will remain a rather permanent one with Nadine's US solo ambitions.