If I evr mention that I like Michelle Branch, people tend to say "Who's that?" Which is a shame, because she is a supremely talented singer and songwriter, she plays an instrument AND she created a fantastic album with the release of "The Spirit Room". And yet, if people DO know who she is and DO mention her, it's usually just to compare her to Avril Lavigne or Alanis Morrisette or Natalie Imbruglia, or someone along those veins. And I know I've done it myself in the title of this review but I'm actually trying to be ironic. Why? Because, as far as I'm concerned, Michelle Branch is twice the artist Avril lavigne is. Don't get me wrong here - I LIKE Avril Lavigne but when I compare both their debut albums, Michelle's is far superior and I don't understand why she hasn't done better over in the UK because she writes great radio-friendly music and has a fantastic voice.
So, if you don't know who she is, you've probably worked out by now she is no Britney, Jessica Simpson, whoever style pop-princess.
She makes quite rocky pop which manages to be slightly different without alienating anyone. If you've heard her most famous hit here "Everywhere", you can expect an album that's very similar in style to that song. But no song sounds the same.
Here are the best ones:
"Everywhere" - starts off quite soft and almost balladlike before Michelle's voice cuts in and by the chorus it's fairly rocky. Her voice too starts off quite sweet and becomes quite hard edged by the chorus.
"All you Wanted" - I don't know if this actually was released or not here, I know there was a video for it, so I'm assuming it did but it's hard to know since, as i said, she hasnt done too well over here. It reminds me a lot of "Everywhere" but rockier. And I think of it as being quite a depressing song, even though it seems to be about love (I think!). In spite of that, I love it, and it's one of my favourite songs on the album!
"Here with me" - This is my absolute favourite song. It has slightly strange sound effects and a bit of synthesised cher-like back-up singing later on in the song, but it's a lovely little song. She sings "I know you have to go away, I die just a little" but she'll eventually have her man back "here with me"! I just love it cos its quite an upbeat tune and she sounds pretty cheerful in it, so its quite uplifting. And it's the best song to sing along to.
"If Only She Knew" - This song feels personal to me because I used to have an ongoing flirtation with a guy who had a girlfriend but was more than willing to lead me on! Although this seems in lyrical content to be about a girlfriend and her ex stil loving each other and getting it on, even though he has a new girlfriend, the song title seemed appropriate to my life. The production of it is somehow ironic as Michelle is singing so sweetly about being kind of, well, evil to this girl. It also has a slight country twang to it (but in a good way!)
"I'd rather Be In Love" - This is quite a dramatic sweeping song to me, about declaring your undying love basically. The music is really good and you can really hear the emotion powering Michelle's voice in this.
"Goodbye to you" - apparently this song featured in an episode of Buffy - but don't hold that against it! (only kidding, im a Buffy fan!) It's a ballad, but a good one (I have a strong aversion to ballads generally). It seems like such a sad song, and once again, the emotion in her voice is really strong.
When I say these songs are the best ones, this does not mean the other songs are rubbish. The only song I'm not fond of AT ALL on this album is the last track - "A Drop inthe Ocean" (It starts off a bit too Madonna - Ray of Light phase for me). It''s a consistently good album with a cohesive guitar based sound. But, in spite of this, all the songs don't sound the same. They change tempo and style from one song to the next, and often Michelle's voice changes too to suit. She really does have a fantastic voice, which can be really sweet or really powerful and soaring, and it is very suited to the type of music she produces. She doesn't have that Avril-tinged "whine" either, which can be quite wearing at times.
Now, as I said, I hate to make comparisons, but if you liked Avril Lavigne's debut album, I think you would be more impressed with Michelle Branch's. She seems to draw from a lot of influences like Morrisette and Imbruglia so if you like any of those artists, you should give Michelle a shot. I think in conclusion I would say this about her:
Her speciality is angsty-style pop - but she sings it, rather than whines it!
I think she's got such a great voice, used to play this album non stop about 2 years ago! Lucie xxx
Soho_Black 03.10.2004 15:39
I'm not sure any comparison to Avril Lavigne is fair, except that they're both female solo singers. Lavigne's trying to be skater punk, and Branch is pop with an edge.
"So I'm a little left of centre, I'm a little out of tune", sings Michelle Branch on The ... more
Spirit Room's second number "You Get Me" ...well, maybe. Branch offers a well-produced pastiche of chiming and strumming guitars, hip-hop-lite beats, quiet-verse-t...
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Sep 23rd, 2004
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