| CD REVIEW Pien Feith |
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Band : Pien Feith Hum...I found very little additional info on this Dutch singer-songwriter other than that given us along with the promo download of this, her official debut album, so I guess I'll have to make due with that. Apparently Feith's career has been one with a wild diversity, which saw her active with an own band as well as side-projects Neonbelle and The Very Sexuals, swinging from minimalistic Folk and weird Rock to a mixture of Pop and Electronica (citacion from that info sheet) “...along the line of Bat For Lashes, Fever Ray, and Glasses.” (the latter is even cited as influence, alongside the likes of Lill Wayne, The Flaming Lips, Four Tet, Tanlines, and “...lots of other stuff...” on the artists' MySpace page)...and somewhere along the line (between 2006 and 2008, as far as I can gather from my scanty additional info), Feith self-released a first album. For her new material, Feith changed the way she approached the songs, writing (together with her life partner and producer Melvin Wevers) from the beat like as if she was a Rapper, then adding layers like a a painter would when putting together a collage canvas. This change in writing gave her the possibility to use a broader pallet of her previous musical influences. In the two-year writing process which started in 2008, Feith and Wevers recorded several demos, which were then analised, dissected and cut, and enhanced by percussionist/ drummer Pim Verlaek. The duo then started a collaboration with recording engineer Remko Schouten (well-known from his work with Pavement and zZz) to transform the digital parts to an organic whole, with live bassist Peter Akkerman completing the tracks. According to the info sheet, Dance On Time and more recent gigsshow Feith to be Poppier than ever, with a sound full of keyboards, synths, and samples. Feith about her new album: “Dance On Time came about in a period in my life where I had a clear vision about the future...something which I came to see less and less as a problem. This prompted me to approach my music in a more frivolous way, in which I search for development possibilities rather than from having a clear begin or end vision.” As a singer, Feith definitely possesses a very nice expressive voice, and the slight whine she puts on it is definitely delectable. One might argue that she uses her voice somewhat unilaterally in a calmer mode, but as a result the 11 songs on the album do get an additional bonding. Stylistically, Feith's Pop flirts with Dub, Crank, and Tropicalia, and while the vocals may be unilateral and in spite of the announced increase of keyboard/ synth/ samples use, some songs dó get a stronger guitar line in 'em. The fun thing is that the guitar is ever-so-often more of a subdued swirly psychedelic type. At any rate, with her approach to the songwriting, Feith has given a great twist to the run-of-the-mill female singer-songwriter scene! Regretfully, at (www.) myspace.com/pienfeith, you'll only find a full-length version of the somewhat electro-tropical sounding album opener “I Have Done Nothing”. Well, I'm sure the album will have (or already has) a page at your trusted online sales outlets (Amazon, iTunes, Napster, etc...), which usually post samples of all songs to savior. For the moment, Feith's live activities (including a small tour in May with Blaudzun) seem to be focused on Holland, so I guess Belgian people into this type of really special Female Singer-Songwriter stuff will have to make due with the album for the first time being. Lucky will be those who, for one reason or another, will be able to witness one of Dutch shows, because with the material at hand those events sure promise to be unique intimate happenings! 85/100 Tony. |