Imogen Heap: Speak for Yourself I hate CD reviews that start out with comparisons. So and so is the new so and so. But, in this case, I have to break my own rule, because if you sat down to lunch with The Cranberries and The Verve and asked Shirley Manson of Garbage fame to toss in her two cents, Imogen Heap is what you might wind up with. With its ethereal, electronic style symphonics, things get off to a rousing start with “Headlock”, which plays like a breath of fresh air against a stifling backdrop. On loose ends, Imogen Heap goes Euro-pop with a strong lyrical hook – Doing everything by halves / You’ve got a real flair with excuses / Meeting someone at a bar / Where loose ends still have uses. It’s a subtle slap in the face with such an upbeat, feet tapping tune laid underneath. A tongue in cheek suggestion, so to speak. For me, the album’s stand out track is “I Am in Love With You,” a sexy, slinky rock anthem that drips in sex, strings and synthesized drum riffs. It recalls Kylie Minogue at her most experimental, but with a uniquely Euro-rock groove. In the liner notes, Imogen Heap is credited with writing, producing and everything in between… which perhaps explains that even with such auspicious comparisons, the sound is uniquely hers. |