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imogen heap speak for yourself

Imogen Heap: Speak For Yourself

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by Julian Ridgway
I’m glad it was grey and drizzly when I listened to this. It seems to suit 'Speak for Yourself', which at its best draws you into an intimate and vulnerable atmosphere of “low light mercury mornings”, peering into people’s windows and imagining the lives inside.

Despite Imogen Heap’s mastery of fluid dynamics, the strongest songs are the simplest productions. Especially The OC approved “Hide & Seek” where minimalism is taken to the extreme of a couple of vocal tracks and a vocoder or the delicately piano-brushed closer “The Moment I Said It”. These sound infinitely more assured than “Goodnight And Go” whose watching-someone-do-a-Rubik’s-cube shape changing overwhelms the song (and the less said about Jeff Beck’s guitar solo the better).

At points the cascading harmony breakdowns and low swirling strings sound like an updated 'The Hounds Of Love'. Unlike Kate Bush’s proggy pastorals though, Imogen Heap uses these touches to evoke a world of smoke alarms and stagnating in front of the TV.

As with most records made from just one person’s vision, it is inconsistent, occasionally guilty of self-indulgence on one side and borderline Didoism on the other. However, at its core, 'Speak for Yourself' is inventive and genuinely captivating.

  • Imogen Heap 8 / 10

Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

Hide and Seek is the best song.

Re: Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

Yeah but every time I hear it all I can think about is that bullet hitting Trey, oh well, he deserved it anyway.

Re: Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

Trey is the best character on the show!

That was a good song for the scene.

Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

This is nice.

I think you have to be in the mood for it though.

Re: Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

Is this the same Imogen Heap who provided vocals for Urban Species on "Blanket" ? I really hope this doesn't trigger a triphop revival...

Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

i love hide and seek... and i now want this album. i thought they only played it at caleb's funeral, not the bit with trey? i may be wrong though.

Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

This is a very accomplished record. Aside from writing all the material and doing the recording/producing/engineering, Ms. Heap played virtually all instruments and does some very innovative vocalizing and vocal tracking. The record is not 100% consistent, but of the 13 tracks, fully 8 or 9 are WONDERFUL. Not bad for this day and age and for such an ambitious undertaking.

She deserves to be a much bigger star than she is. Maybe with this album and the fortunate pop culture recognition... she will be soon.

hot damn, but I don't love the other songs as much...

While I'm irritated that it is "OC-approved" (damn vapid californians), oh... oh my god, Hide and Seek is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard recorded. What a gorgeous idea to use the synth vocoder to do that with ones voice, and those harmonies touch something inside my brain that's like being on drugs--perfect unexpected resolutions to near conflicts but only after just the right suspense. Damn girl, that song is the shit.


p.s.

btw, I realize I am like two years late on this album D: I've been holed up in a lab for a long time, I don't get out much.





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