{"id":1842,"date":"2012-06-11T07:44:07","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T12:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/?p=1842"},"modified":"2012-06-11T07:44:07","modified_gmt":"2012-06-11T12:44:07","slug":"album-review-gemma-ray-island-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/2012\/06\/11\/album-review-gemma-ray-island-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Gemma Ray – Island Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

In listening to Gemma Ray\u2019s newest album, Island Fire<\/em>, out now on Bronzerat, the word chanteuse comes to mind. Perhaps misrepresentative, since the album isn\u2019t loungy at all, but it is a collection of noir-infused pop songs centered on Ray\u2019s perfectly attuned and full voice. The songs range in style from 50s pop to electronica to dark, electric folk, but maintain a surprisingly cohesive feel with some notable exceptions toward the end of the album.<\/p>\n

Island Fire<\/em>\u2019s opening track is bright and upbeat, a trend that continues for much of the record, even when it\u2019s balanced by more somber elements such as on the album\u2019s first single, \u201cRunaway.\u201d \u201cRunaway\u201d opens with sparse, wavering, minor key guitar notes and a drum loop before shifting into a galloping chorus with major chords. The effect sounds something like pop group The Bird and the Bee.<\/p>\n

This vacillating between sweet and serious pervades most of the tracks on the album, though the sugary standout \u201cRescue Me\u201d emerges as an exception. It\u2019s all pop, with soaring synth strings riding on top and surf-themed guitar strums buried in the mix. The track also features some other-worldly, Theremin-like notes throughout. Clocking in at under three minutes, the track hangs around the perfect length to get stuck in your head and keep you wanting more. The following track, \u201cThey All Wanted A Slice,\u201d is almost freak-folk with a chant-like vocal line and classical guitar picking, but also utilizes electronic drum loops. These two songs beside one another prove just how disparate Gemma Ray can be.<\/p>\n

It seems that the standard length for albums in today\u2019s market falls around ten songs, and Ray has collected a solid ten here. However, almost categorically, songs 11-14 fall short of the standard she sets earlier on the album. Each features a repetitive refrain and lacks substance. Including these songs among the others strikes me as an odd decision. They\u2019re wildly divergent from the sounds of the first ten and they feel underdeveloped. Unfortunately, this includes a track with the legendary band Sparks, who have previously remixed some of Ray\u2019s work. Island Fire<\/em> might have ended better on the brassy notes of \u201cI Can See You,\u201d which feels like a closer.<\/p>\n

Overall, the record offers some enjoyable moments, convincing vocals, and impressively blended instrumentation. It\u2019s definitely worth a listen for fans of the Bird and the Bee or Jenny Lewis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In listening to Gemma Ray\u2019s newest album, Island Fire, out now on Bronzerat, the word chanteuse comes to mind. Perhaps misrepresentative, since the album isn\u2019t loungy at all, but it is a collection…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[426,424,425],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1842"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1865,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842\/revisions\/1865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}