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Naomi Hates Humans Pipe Dreams and Lullabies
Better Weird Than Dead
Article
written by Mary B
Jun 22, 2008.
For people who like dependable, sugary sounds stop reading this now. For people who like anti-folk type feasts with observant, and at times heart-rending, lyrics continue reading this review.
Maybe it's the packaging that it comes in - I am immediately drawn to the cover of a black and white drawing of a girl sitting on the grass and looking towards what looks like a London skyline. The title 'Pipe Dreams and Lullabies' also gains my attention as I am a bit of a dreamer, me.
There are eleven songs on offer here and they all have one thing in common - wonderful lyrics that grab the heart and mind and squeeze away, insisting that you absorb them. The vocals are questionable. Not from this reviewer for Naomi has traces of Polly Harvey in her voice and i'm a big fan of Polly Harvey. The vocals are a bit coarse and 'jagged'. It's the kind of voice that is not designed to sing 'Happy Talk'. This is a voice with layers of cynicism and realism but is that hope resting on those vocals also? Yes, I think so.
Some of my favourites include 'Heads down' which is a running commentary on the effects of the battle that commuters face everyday - not engaging in any eye contact with your fellow man or gracing them with a smile. 'Consensus counts for nothing' is also a powerful number with a raw drumbeat accompanying the vocals throughout. 'This is not a love song' conjures up all kinds of emotions inside of me and the album title track is an 'infectious' affair.
The overall verdict? It's an album built on experience which has something to say. It sounds raw and stripped to the bone. You will not use any of its tracks to get the party started. It sounds like Naomi smokes fifty cigarettes a day while pondering why us humans are such complicated creatures. There is something very 'real' and believable about this album. It's as near to perfect as this kind of work can be and a welcome break from the uniformed dross that I am being subjected to at present.
It's a shame that Naomi hates humans as I think that I could really grow to love her if this release is anything to go by.
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