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Imogen Heap "Speak For Yourself" (RCA) Philadelphia Inquirer - Album Review You may have heard her on the Garden State soundtrack (as singer of Frou Frou's "Let Go") or via The O.C., but with her sophomore solo effort (after a United Kingdom-only debut), Imogen Heap seems poised for a critical, if not commercial, breakthrough that will put a name with that often-haunting voice. The 27-year-old Brit's self-produced record - she refinanced her London flat to pay for it - shows off not only her ethereal vocals (think Dido with a kick), but also her dreamy, electro-pop melodies, which incorporate layers of swirling keyboards, bells, and drum machines. In a series of intimate, breathy vignettes about love embraced and discarded, highlights include the darkly sensual "Headlock," the hymnlike "Hide and Seek," and the rhythm-fueled "Loose Ends," whose driving synchs are offset by Heap's moody meditation on a collapsing relationship. |