Advantages: Unparalled lyrics, clever arrangements and lots of little barbed comments throughout Disadvantages: Not a household name, so hardly anyone has heard of her
own, but barely being able to control her rage as on this track. She doesn't want answers - the questions are enough for her, and "Mainstream" poses plenty of them.
Apparition #13
"You have narrowed it down
To pictures or memory
You have narrowed it down
To dots on a screen"
Apparitions seem to run through TheaGilmore's albums - "#12" appeared as the opener on 2001's "Rules For Jokers" and "#13" is on "Avalanche". There seems to be no apparent link between the two songs, indeed "#12" is extremely stripped down whilst "#13" has plenty of programming lying behind it. The latter song does appeal, though - the repeated lyric "You have narrowed it down" gets burned into your brain like some ad man's wet dream and it's not long before you find yourself singing along with Thea. If that's not enough of an enticement, the distorted ...
Advantages: Great voice, Lyrics Disadvantages: None
the real feeling of the backing vocals from Thea's husband and longtime songwriting partner Nigel Stonier and the Cellist and guitarist known as Fluff.
5. Roll On
This track reminds me most of Thea's previous album Harpo's Ghost which I have also reviewed. It is a more uptempo track that most of this album and has a great feel. Thea's voice shows that it is capable of any type of music.
6. Icarus Wind
A beauty of a song. This is what you should play to someone who doesnt know her music and asks you what TheaGilmore is like, A beautiful ballad exceptionally sung with passion, perfect tone and a biting emotive quality that is quite rare.
7. The Wrong Side
This is an interesting song which seems to fuse soul with folk to create a very good track with a very unique feel. This track shows her versatility and is one of the best ...
Right, that's enough book-reviewing, CD-R burning, monitor-bashing and lyric-analysing. It's back to the gramophone for me.....
WHO'S THIS THEN?
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It's TheaGilmore, a 26 year old singer and songwriter from Oxfordshire. She's been peddling her particularly beguiling brand of thoughtful acoustic pop since around 1997. Rules For Jokers is her third album, from 2001, and rates as possibly the finest female album I've heard for ages.
THE TRACKS
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GIven that Ms GIlmore is certainly a wordy and literate songwriter, I've included my ususal track descriptions and marks out of five, along with a best line section. Enjoy.
**1. Apparition No.12 (2:43)**
A super start to the album with Thea strumming along unaccompanied in an uptempo manner. Some great lyrics are heard throughout ...
