THIEVERY CORPORATION
The Cosmic Game
ESL
EMILIANA TORRINI
Fisherman’s Wife
Beggars Banquet
· Corporation falters, former associate prospers.
Thievery Corporation was something of an anomaly for a respected and successful American alternative group of the ’90s – their sources of inspiration lay largely in Bristol, Jamaica, Brazil and Europe. Perhaps, more accurately, they were unique in recognizing that many Americans had closer cultural ties to contemporary trends overseas than to those of the distant past of the U.S. Though they may have been born in a lounge, they were unique in their ability to create post-modern easy-listening music that was intelligent, sincere and original.
However, recent years have seen a determined effort to escape the lounge label – the beats are getting a little harder, although they’re moving more towards Jamaica (or Buenos Aires on a recent compilation) than to America’s inner cities, and never accelerate beyond mid-tempo.
Despite the presence of 11 different guest vocalists, ranging from Wayne Coyne, Perry Farrell and David Byrne to Thievery veterans Loulou and Patrick De Santos, Cosmic Game follows the same direction as 2002’s Richest Man in Babylon, but with less schizophrenia – dub, psychedelic and Indian touches are better integrated and the album isn’t so violently split between dance-pop and heavy dub.
Still, the music hasn’t evolved much, and while no one expects them to go glitch-pop overnight, more acknowledgement of modern trends, whether in dance or world music, would be reassuring. Disappointing at first listen, Cosmic Game recovers somewhat after awhile, but it increasingly looks as if Mirror Conspiracy marked their apogee.
Although Emiliana Torrini is probably best known for her guest appearances with Thievery Corporation in 2002, the Icelandic singer had previously released a well-received album of quiet electro pop, over-produced by Tears for Fears’s Roland Orzabal, but showing a solid songwriting talent and a distinctively winsome voice. Since then, her voice got her a role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, (singing Gollum’s Song) and her songwriting produced "Slow," one of the best Kylie Minogue singles of recent years (though not as good as the Scissor Sisters’s effort).
After all of this, Fisherman’s Wife comes as a welcome shock, an acoustic set whose delicate and intimate tone immediately places Torrini among the best of her generation’s folk chanteuses. As usual, it’s hard to avoid Scandinavian parallels – Stina Nordenstam’s first album, with maybe a hint of Bjork’s Vespertine. It’s equally fair to draw links to Coralie Clement’s debut, even to early Joni Mitchell, yet there’s a distinctly contemporary feel to it. With the looseness of American alt-folk, it doesn’t have the contrived drabness of Suvjan Stevens or the self-conscious silliness of Joanna Newsom.
THIEVERY CORPORATION 3/5
EMILIANA TORRINI 5/5
TIMOTHY HECK
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