SONG OF THE DAY (#221)

'lying,' by martina topley-bird

after a musical and personal relationship with tricky that culminated in tricky's 'angels with dirty faces,' martina topley-bird struck out on her own. after one listen through her 2003 album, 'quixotic,' it's easy to see why she was his muse. martina's voice is as hypnotic as it is unforced, as pure as it is beguiling. and it's got a serious amount of soul. in a genre like trip-hop, that kind of voice is paramount in balancing out sparse, minimalist beats and 'gruff' production in tricky's songs.

'quixotic,' which was shortlisted for the mercury prize the year of its release and spawned four singles ['lying' wasn't one of them]. 'quixotic,' perhaps inevitably, exhibits some similar sign posts to tricky's album. but it's still martina's album through and through. it's a sort blend of classic soul, hip-hop, electronica, and a little good, old-fashioned rock & roll. and it sounds great. but it's her vocals that stand out front and center. she brings so much life and genuine emotion to her singing. it's quite a joy to listen to.

and in the interest of full disclosure, i'd never heard of her until this past weekend. and i call myself an a music fan. psh! well, better late than never [it's especially odd because i own tricky's debut 'maxinquay,' in which martina sings most of the songs. i guess i just never put it together].

'quixotic' also features guest appearances from mark lanegan [yeah, him again], josh homme [queens of the stone age], david holmes, david arnold, and, of course, tricky. those are some serious heavyweights, kids. if she's new to you, i highly recommend 'quixotic.' but if you do go looking for it, and you're in the u.s., looked for the album titled 'anything' [basically the adulterated version, redesigned and resequenced. blasted record companies!].

→ martina topley bird: lying
→ martina topley bird: need one
→ martina topley bird: i still feel
→ martina topley bird: carnies [from her upcoming album, 'blue god,' due out in 2008]