Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Disappointing


Last year through my obsession with various mp3 blogs, I was introduced to a band named Ida Maria, who was a high-energy rock band with vocals that resembled Bjork's. I loved them. "Oh My God," "Queen of the World," and "Louie" were in heavy rotation on the iPod and in all CD mixes I shared with friends last year.

Finally, she's gone from unsigned, unpublished, and otherwise unknown into a definite "thing."

http://www.idamaria.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/idamaria

I was giddy when I first realized she was finally there for public consumption; obviously, because I wanted more.

But then I listened to her new recording of "Queen of the World." It was overwhelmingly disappointing to say the least. Instead of high-energy toms in the background along with the jangling guitar and frantic vocals, it's become something of a Cat Power/Feist watered-down mess. Slow, disjointed speeds with sleepy vocals. Good lord, can we be done with this smoky, wistful, wide-eyeliner-eyed wankfest? It was fun at first, but I'm suffering from severe burnout.

The good news is, at least some of the original tracks are still intact. Check out "Oh My God" on her MySpace before it's too late.

2 comments:

  1. I agree her older stuff is quite good. But I also like the new reworkings she has up. I wouldn't say I'm head over heels, but they're quite listenable. Admittedly, I am a fairly enormous fan of both Cat Power and Feist. I feel Ida Maria has the potential, but may still be looking for her own unique sound.

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  2. Ps by the way...I was rewatching the Queen of the World video just now, and I actually see more of a nod in the direction of Save Ferris. Which I like. It's fun.

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