Dark Center of the Universe: Me & Armini

I don't actually know anyone named Armini, but it's kind of a cool name. "Me & Armini" is the name of Emilíana Torrini's new album, which she released in the U.S. last Tuesday, and I finally got to listen to a couple days ago. Sadly, I don't own a copy; but fortunately Emilíana has updated her website to have actual content, and there was a link to a site that allows you to listen to the entire album, which I've done four times now. Emilíana Torrini is my favorite singer, so I was very much looking forward to this album. Here's what I think:

It's not her best stuff ever, but that's okay because it's still pretty good. It's short, but that's fine because I'm more concerned with quality of music than quantity (though quantity of quality music is the best). It doesn't have as much of the odd, otherworldly feel of her first U.S. release, Love in the Time of Science, and it doesn't have the personal sincerity of her second, Fisherman's Woman; instead it's somewhere in between. As one reviewer puts it, "Torrini reveals a more adventurous side but sacrifices some of the emotional intensity that underpinned her 2005 masterpiece." That's a very fair statement. It's still Emilíana's voice, though, and that's the important part. So even if the lyrics on this new album aren't as meaningful or cryptic as on the previous two albums, I still can't get enough of that voice.

So you can listen to the album here. Most of the tracks are good, fun songs. I really like Fireheads, Me and Armini, Heard it All Before and Big Jumps. Hold Heart, Gun, Beggar's Prayer and Bleeder are okay. I didn't much care for the vocal part on Dead Duck, but the instrumentals are good (ironic, since it's her voice I like). The only song I didn't like was Jungle Drums, because of the dumb lyrics. The beat and music are good, but the lyrics ruin it for me. I especially liked Ha Ha, probably because rather than a silly upbeat song it's a mellow, somewhat spiteful song that reminds me of songs from Fisherman's Woman. My favorite track was Birds. I'm not sure what symbolism is in the lyrics, but the tune is good and there's an awesome, slightly dissonant guitar and piano interlude that offsets Emilíana's voice very nicely. If you only listen to one track, I recommend you listen to Birds. In fact, you're required to do that right now. Go.

Now that you've done that, this is a great place to start talking about the excellent* music I have included in this blog. Emilíana Torrini was my first exposure to Icelandic music, of which I am now a huge fan (if her name doesn't seem Icelandic, it's because her father was Italian). The first I ever heard was Hold Your Hand, which is on a Paul Oakenfold techno album called Bunkka. Unfortunately I didn't notice, since this album was one of several annoying albums one of my missionary companions would play all the time (yes, apostate, non-church-approved music), that is ironically now one of my favorite albums. This companion also introduced me to Depeche Mode, another band I didn't like at the time but do now.

(Not a photo of Emilíana Torrini)

I didn't really notice Emilíana Torrini until I watched The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. She sings Gollum's Song during the end credits, which is one of the most amazing songs ever. Her dark, smoky voice is perfect to represent Gollum's tortured personality, and the mood of that song along with the brilliant lyrics perfectly capture the emotion necessary for a song to represent such a complicated character, my favorite character in the series. I heard that song once and couldn't get it out of my head, so I looked up the singer and started listening to the rest of her music.

Love in the Time of Science is the first album she released in the U.S. The style is a bit similar to Björk, as is her voice, but not as wild or weird. It's still weird, though, especially the lyrics. It's heavy at times on the electronics, but only where appropriate. It's one of my all-time favorite albums. I included one song from the album on this blog, one of the few with easily decipherable lyrics: To Be Free. I love everything about this song, but a line in the lyrics particularly caught my attention: "It shouldn't hurt me to be free, it's what I really need to pull myself together; but if it's so good being free, would you mind telling me why I don't know what to do with myself?" Of course, she's singing about getting out of a bad relationship and not knowing what to do next, but for me this is how I feel during the summer: lots of free time, and not much to fill it with. There's not a single song on this album I don't like, but my other favorites are Tuna Fish (there's an awesome acoustic version of this song on this blog), Baby Blue, Telepathy and Dead Things. It's a unique, original album that I can listen to over and over again.

It was six years between that and her next album (1999 to 2005), Fisherman's Woman which has a completely different feel. Torrini was apparently going through a hard time, and this album reflects it with a very mellow, reflective, more personal feel. It's entirely acoustic; voice, piano and guitar, with a few subtle ambient sound effects thrown in such as creaking boards to give a feel of being aboard a boat. The mood of the album is alternately melancholy and hopeful. I don't like it quite as well as her previous album, but it is very good. My favorite song is Today Has Been OK, which I've included on this blog. I almost had the line "This life has been insane, but today has been OK" engraved on my iPod (instead I went with "Feed Your Head" from White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane, which is a total drug reference). My other favorites from this album are Heartstopper and Next Time Around (an excellent Sandy Denny cover).

Like I do with any musician I'm fanatical about, I've grabbed up as many obscure Emilíana Torrini tracks as I can find. I've put ten of her songs on this blog, and I've discussed four of them, which means there are six more, most of them cover songs:

Ten to Twenty is a song by another band I like, Sneaker Pimps. The version on this blog is the only version I know of, and I lifted it from a video of a live performance. I don't particularly care for the original, but this version is just cool.

If You Go Away is the English (better) version of a french song by Jacques Brel, Ne Me Quitte Pas. I've heard other versions, and this is my favorite. It's kind of a sad song, but the lyrics are great, and Emilíana captures the sentiment of the song perfectly.

Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) is a cover of a song by Melanie Safka, a 60s hippie whose work was influential to Torrini's style. This is an essential hippie song, and of course I like Torrini's version the best. The lyrics are about Woodstock, and a bunch of hippies doing drugs and holding up candles to ward away a rainstorm. This song is the best one I know of for showing off Emilíana's versatile range of styles, from dark, cozy and quiet to clear, piercing high notes. Also, there are drug references in the lyrics. This is one of my top favorite Torrini songs.

Ruby Tuesday is another hippie song by The Rolling Stones. A different cover version is playing during a particularly intense scene of Children of Men, but naturally Emilíana's is my favorite version. This is another great song for showing off the full range of her voice, and the lyrics are very good. The last verse is my favorite:

"'There's no time to lose,' I heard her say
You've got to catch your dreams before they run away
Dying all the time,
Lose your dreams, and you could lose your mind
Ain't life unkind?"

And finally, Why is a song by GusGus, an Icelandic band for which Emilíana was the singer before her solo career. I like it for the minimal, laid back jazz feel. And of course for the voice.

All ten of these songs are in my playlist on this blog, but Why is under GusGus, Gollum's Song is under Howard Shore (composer of the soundtrack), and Hold Your Hand is under Paul Oakenfold.

Of course this just scratches the surface; those are my top ten Torrini songs that I chose to show off her music. I hope you enjoy them!

One more thing. I've put a lot of pictures of Emilíana Torrini in this post, but I didn't show the cover of the new album. That's because I'm not sure what I think of it. It's not exactly bad, but it's not my favorite look for her. I keep changing my mind whether I like it of not. Here it is: