Adele - 19 (XL)
3/5
By: Sofie Jenkinson
Adele Atkins has an overwhelming presence. She's really got something; it's there in her eyes and there in her voice. When she is in front of you with a guitar there is a vicious energy, which spews out into the air and floats around you, both fragile and strong.
Unfortunately, the beautiful melancholy and heartache that come across in Adele's live performance is somehow lost on 19. The charm and spirit that so violently makes her who she is and creates a vessel for the voice seems watered down and lost under a throng of effects and nob twiddling, (or over nobbing, if you will.)
That said there is something instantly classic and impressive about the album overall, the frequent soulful moments bringing a clutch of popular comparisons and the W-word starts to bubble to the surface. 'Daydreamer' and 'Hometown Glory' stand out as strong and as stunning as they did the first time, they seem to remain truly hers above the rattle and hum of the produced sound. It is, however, the contrast between songs as gritty these and a other, weaker, more padded out numbers that underpin 19 with a sense of confusion and ultimately mean that it is not the debut effort that Atkins was capable of.
The quality and strength of Adele's voice never once comes into question, nor do the spirit churning moments that she conjures, as in 'Chasing Pavements'. What does, however is the concept of the sound as a whole. The numeric value of certain sounds is becoming more relevant in the music of today and there is a feeling with albums of this notability that they are something which has been manipulated as such. Whether or not an Adele unplugged album would manage to capture the magic in a way this record doesn't remains to be seen.
The extremes of the album seem to illustrate the potential musical conflicts on 19. 'First Love' builds of the majesty and promise of what was expected, a murky fairytale of teenage confusion dimly lit with the gentle soundtrack that would not be out of place in French indie cinema. 'Make You Feel My Love' on the other hand feels like a lazy, cheesy love note and is the kind of over-planned moment that undermines the talent shown in others.
This album will undoubtedly become one of the loudest, most popular sounds to resonate from 2008 and Adele will forever be etched out as one of its most successful stars, but that fact that 19 is not the slap-in-the-face incredible debut that was expected will still remain the case. Like Ms.Nash before her, also a victim of gross over marketing, watching her busk on the street would surely be far more impressive, when everything's stripped back and raw talent remains.
Stream three tracks from 19 HERE.
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