CMU Daily ALBUM REVIEW: Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself (Megaphonic Records) It happens rarely but every now and then a totally unique talent pops up who defies comparison to everyone else. Imogen Heap is a maverick, a female artist with the originality of Patrick Wolf, or Stephen 'Babybird' Jones. She has the quirkiness and imagination of Bjork and Emiliana Torrini without sounding like either of these. For a start she wrote, recorded and produced the album herself, and even re-mortgaged her flat so she could release it on her own record label, which is very impressive. This is her second solo album and she is also one half of Frou-Frou (best known for their inclusion on the soundtrack of the movie 'Garden State'). 'Speak For Yourself' was recorded in Imogen's home studio in south London, where electronics and traditional instruments were mixed with multi-layered vocal effects. 'Hide and Seek' became an unexpected hit on iTunes after it was played at the emotional finale of the OC The track has subsequently been released as a single although it's very far from being a typical single. It has an avant-garde sound reminiscent of Laurie Anderson's 'Superman', consisting of Heap's voice fed through a vocoder, and it makes for very simple but haunting listening. The rest of the album is not quite so leftfield although there are plenty of unusual bleeps, beats and loops to make for intriguing tracks. The most poppy track on the album and obvious single contender is 'Goodnight and Go'. The dynamic 'Daylight Robbery' builds up a huge wall of sound, while 'The Moment I Said It' is a big epic number, with hints of Kate Bush. Another stand out is the soulful, wistful 'Just For Now'. This is fresh and innovative music and if Imogen continues to get air time on Radio 1, she should end up with a heap of success. JW |