Wednesday 27 August 2008

Teeter on the brink with Ida Maria

Today, Ida Maria. Who released her debut album about a month ago (which I have not heard). And whom Cogwheel Dogs, in fact, supported when she was in Oxford.

So – quite a good single with quite a cool video. The song is called, not so immensely surprisingly, 'Oh My God'.



It's interesting to reflect that this whole song is made by the simple fact of that delayed attack in the chorus - a quaver's hesitation before the word "God".

Were it not for this tension-raising hiatus, the song would be somewhat unremarkable, save for its aggressive tempo. With the sudden loss of balance – the sense of teetering on a cliff's brink – it's fresh.

Nevertheless, the song is too long, in my opinion, and wears out this initially effective hook. And – for all its raw energy – I don't find her performance quite intense enough to do battle with the PJ Harveys and Bjorks against whom she is pitted ... though the cigarette-serrated edges to her voice are pretty impressive in the high registers.

Finally: the overtly sexual way in which she is presented as an artist (or in which she chooses to present herself? Who knows?) is rather tiresome and unconvincing. Again, she needs either to take a leaf out of PJ Harvey's book in this respect, or else take a different tack. At the moment, it's not working.

2 comments:

halem said...

Yes, I agree the persona isn't quite working. She also looks a bit like a younger, thinner Dawn French - particularly unfortunate because it feels like I'm watching Dawn French doing a spoof video.

Tom Parnell said...

Haha ... You have put your finger on something, there - which, I think, justifies a follow-up post ...

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