Under-rated and mostly over-looked, Natalie Imbruglia's third album was a classy pop affair that suffered from bad promotion. While the album launched an the back of the brilliant first single "Shiver," it produced no other hits and quickly faded from the limelight, along with Imbruglia's career (we've barely heard a peep from her since). Too bad, for she's a pretty fantastic pop artist who deserves to be known for more than just "Torn." Most of the best songs on Counting Down the Days are bright-sounding blends of mostly acoustic instrumentation and Imbruglia's smooth vocals. Co-written by Kara DioGuardi, "Starting Today" is a delightful track that balances its guitar melody and with Imbruglia's clear voice. Upbeat "Satisfied" and "Sanctuary" are similarly, instantly likable. "Counting Down the Days," while a bad choice for a single, is not a bad album track, alternating between piano-backed versus and louder choruses. Slower songs are good too, like the moody "I Won't Be Lost." "Perfectly" sounds like it was made to air over TV promos for the CW, which is to say that it would sound great on the radio too. Quirky "Honeycomb Child" is less immediate, but give it a second chance and its music-box melody will charm you. In short, there's little not to like here.Best: Shiver, Starting Today, Sanctuary, Satisfied, Perfectly, Counting Down the Days
2 comments:
Apart from "Torn" I've never really been too interested in Natalie -- every time I hear about her or see her I get a weird depressing vibe. As I'm writing this I have the album on in the background--my mum owns a few of her albums(and singles).
Have you heard the new single by Air?
"Do the Joy?" I've listened to it just once. It's okay. Are you into them? I really like Moon Safari and Talkie Walkie.
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