As the authenticity of Lana Del Rey's lips are questioned and her talents fought over, there is a corner of the music world that requires no questioning of image and no fight over talent. Antipodean singer-songwriter Nadéah with her debut solo album 'Venus Gets Even' has created a record that brings its listeners to dance, cry, shout, laugh and contemplate. 'Venus Gets Even' acts as a dictionary of emotion giving time, space and definition to the most complex, tragic and joyous moments an individual could experience. Now, my comparing it to a dictionary may make it sound both daunting and like a roller-coaster many would not necessarily wish to board, but it is a joy to listen to. The combination of intellectual lyrics which conjure magical images and the layers of raw, refined, and unique sounds subtly build up to crescendos of exploding entertainment whilst allowing you to enter the corners of a celestial heart.
The album, as with everything, is not flawless. Nadéah's voice demonstrates versatility and passion, but unfortunately that passion abstains from making an appearance on certain tracks. Obviously passion is not always appropriate but in 'Whatever Lovers Say' an upbeat song about the chase and delights of the early stages of romance exaggerated enunciation replaces what could have been a great opportunity to show the excitement and range capable from Nadéah's vocal chords. This over articulation is most likely due to the album's main distribution area being France, and therefore attempting to allow easier communication of the complex humour and imagery the album is brimming with. With this in consideration I should probably get over what really is a personal niggle and instead delight in the display of vocal contortion.
Overall, 'Venus Gets Even' is a very visual and engrossing record. I personally got taken on an intimate and intense journey to a city street in the heat of the summer, a wintry grey day in the middle of a desolate field, and then back to a theatre watching a black comedy about a horrific experience in a psychiatric hospital. Despite these extremities it is a well-woven array of songs, which are ordered so you never feel you are jumping from one area to another, but rather smoothly transitioning between them. Each song could stand alone and be individually admired for their intellect and beauty, but together they form a powerful collage of musical emotion which possesses each and every cell in your body to make you stand stock still and moments later dance until your feet hurt.
The album, as with everything, is not flawless. Nadéah's voice demonstrates versatility and passion, but unfortunately that passion abstains from making an appearance on certain tracks. Obviously passion is not always appropriate but in 'Whatever Lovers Say' an upbeat song about the chase and delights of the early stages of romance exaggerated enunciation replaces what could have been a great opportunity to show the excitement and range capable from Nadéah's vocal chords. This over articulation is most likely due to the album's main distribution area being France, and therefore attempting to allow easier communication of the complex humour and imagery the album is brimming with. With this in consideration I should probably get over what really is a personal niggle and instead delight in the display of vocal contortion.
Overall, 'Venus Gets Even' is a very visual and engrossing record. I personally got taken on an intimate and intense journey to a city street in the heat of the summer, a wintry grey day in the middle of a desolate field, and then back to a theatre watching a black comedy about a horrific experience in a psychiatric hospital. Despite these extremities it is a well-woven array of songs, which are ordered so you never feel you are jumping from one area to another, but rather smoothly transitioning between them. Each song could stand alone and be individually admired for their intellect and beauty, but together they form a powerful collage of musical emotion which possesses each and every cell in your body to make you stand stock still and moments later dance until your feet hurt.
