Joan as Policewoman The Deep Field (Pias)
3/5
By: Liane Escorza
Joan’s new album The Deep Field is indeed deep, but also a gently rocking journey to tranquili happiness. With her smoky voice, her twinkling of piano, scrapping of violin and softly caressing of cymbals, she manages to bring elevate musical and personal ego to a wonderfully intriguing level. Granted, it is intense, self-indulgent and fizzy around the edges – like bubbles of ebullience being burst in a contained environment. But that’s all part of the fun.
The Deep Field starts off with ‘Nervous’, which is rather the opposite – pretty straightforward, with falsetto vocals, metallic short riffs and undulating chorals. It is followed by ‘The Magic’, an elegant yet highly engaging first single that’s infectious in its keyboard riffs and definitely the poppiest of the ten tracks.
A more soulful breeze comes into play with ‘The Action Man’, but things get slightly too dense on ‘Flash’, Joan delivering here slow, supposedly soulful lyrics that seem to disperse and wash off into a non-intelligible mush. A few tribal-like beats start to creep up, but do not stay for long - before you can get your ears used to them, ‘Kiss the Specifics’ and ‘Chemmie’ switch the mood towards Prince-like balladry, tip-toeing around Marvin Gaye and Steve Wonder’s graves.
‘I Was Everyone’ brings the entire work to a laid-back end; yet one that’s probably a tiny bit too chilled to be the ‘most open, joyous’ record that she has described it as. Obviously, there are many ways of expressing one’s own happiness, and if there is something Joan as Policewoman does well it’s embracing this richness in opportunity through her lengthy songs and textured deliveries.
Joan As Policewoman - Nervous by PIAS UK Sales
Artists in this article: Joan As Policewoman
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment