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Cousteau
Sirena
label: Palm Pictures
released: 07.09.02
our score: 2.0 out of 5.0
buy it: here
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Crooner (kroon’ur)
n. 1. one who sings softly and gently. 2. cheesy lounge
act.
Lounge acts
flourish in roadside bars because in a cocktail-induced, campy
sense, they are entertaining at the moment. But remove them from
these special circumstances where they belong and they seem intolerable,
in the laughable - “I can’t believe I’m listening
to this” sense. Such is the case with Cousteau’s Sirena.
Sirena
is the follow up to the band’s self-titled debut album -
an album met with some critical acclaim in the UK, and is named
after the band members’ self-proclaimed unhealthy fascination
with mermaids (sirena means mermaid in both Italian and Spanish).
Yet, unlike the mermaid, this album is not a hidden gem for our
discovery.
The album attempts an ethereal dedication to the
mythical nautical goddesses, but fails to deliver a sound that
effectively moves our collective souls. What listeners will find
is stretched out vocals over rainy day melodies and love songs.
Singer Liam McKahey’s deep baritones are too abrasive for
the soft orchestrated music he drowns song after song. On tracks
such as “Heavy weather”, the lyrics drags un-rhythmically
slow, as if the music was already laid down and the band was hurriedly
trying to create lyrics as it kept playing.
The album, however, does contain some wonderfully
orchestrated compositions in support of McKahey. The track “Talking
too myself” delivers a quality musical sound with well arranged
and integrated string arrangements, and on “Salome”
McKahey tones down the volume just enough to make the lyrics finally
work with the music.
The fact this
album was recorded in London’s Wessex Studios, the very
place where the Clash, Sex Pistols, and Queen recorded some of
their timeless rock anthems, probably has awoken Sid Vicious and
Freddy Mercury from the dead. No, there are no timeless melodies
here; Sirena is part jazz, part funk, part lounge act, but mostly
absurd.
11-Aug-2002
9:15 AM
If you
liked Sirena...
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Tracklist:
1. Nothing So Bad
2. Talking To Myself
3. Heavy Weather
4. Peculiarly You
5. Salome
6. Please Don't Cry
7. No Medication
8. After The Fall
9. Last Secret Of The Sea
10. (Damn These) Hungry Times
11. She Bruise Easy
12. Have You Seen Her
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