Customer Reviews

Apartment Life

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was snowed in last winter in Minneapolis, just killing time & stopped in a CD shop. This album, which I had never heard before, was spinning & I walked in as "Never Do That Again" was playing. Immediately, Dominique's voice was hauntingly beautiful, as was the song hauntingly sad. As I continued to browse, I was amazed at how catchy every song was and purchased "Apartment Life" right on the spot. Almost a year later, it is still refreshing every time I hear it. "Realistic" was not quite as good, and I eagerly await a new release.

Ivy has become one of my favorite listens. This is really probably their best CD but Long Distance is also excellent. The biggest compliment I can pay this CD is that it has not left my car CD player for a long time. I've got lots of CD's to play and a very short attention span so staying on the platter is a major feat.

Apartment Life is less "cutesy" than Long Distance and while it is still basically pop music (whatever that means), there is a depth to it that transcends the obvious. Like clear warm water, the depth of the music is not apparent from its transparency. Ignore the fact that one song was used in "Something About Mary" - it just means that the producers of that movie found some good music.

While Guest Room still leaves me uninspired, I have to give my highest recommendation to this CD and to a slightly lesser degree Long Distance. While pop music is not normally raised to this level there are other examples, most notably to me Todd Rundgren's music, where it can achieve extraordinary heights by being that tune - or here tunes - that keep you moving through life.

From the time I first heard clips from Realistic on a Launch CD years ago, I've been hooked on their music. So haunting, beautiful and engaging. This is perfect pop music, folks. It takes me to another place entirely. Well done Dom, Andy and Adam! Their recent release, Long Distance, is another exquisite example of this trio's work. I highly recommend all three of their releases: Realistic, Apartment Life, and Long Distance. Also, Dominique and Andy have a side project called Paco with an EP release of the same name. Also highly recommended.

A great pop album. Crystal cool naive vocals and great song writing. Beautiful melodies, dark lyrics. One of the best CDs of the decade--probably better than the two fine Fountains of Wayne CDs that Adam Schlessinger also contributed to.

I first heard Ivy when a friend let me listen to one of their earlier albums, Lately, and wasn't that impressed. I bought apartment life based on a good review i'd read, without even realizing that it was the same band, because this cd is SOOOO much better! I finally made the connection and was amazed at how much they've improved since then. I even bought Realistic, a release that came right before apartment life, and it still couldn't measure up. Apartment Life is simply the best ivy's ever done. It's much more sophisticated and layered than their earlier efforts, and the melodies are more developed, and they've added more groovin beats-they definitely rock more now! Dominique Durand's beautiful whispery vocals make you wish you were British. I even heard "I've Got a Feeling" in the background of the show Felicity on the WB-and they didn't even give it credit at the end when they tell where that show's music came from-very bad move!! I love the mellow rolling beat in "Never Do that again", the power guitar on "You Don't Know Anything", and the beautiful backup melody in "These are the Things About You." I love "Quick, Painless and Easy"-makes you wanna get up and dance around. This is a perfect pop album-get it if you've got a sweet tooth-this is Ivy at their best!!

Oddly enough, I had first discovered Ivy's "Realistic" album from reading a review in one of those CD-club magazines. Thought it sounded interesting and ordered it. What a great find! I agree that you can hear the progression from the first album to the second. But isn't that the best thing to notice? To see a band advance so much musically makes me think that they will only get better with time. Now, we just wait for future recordings. By the way, you can find a cover of Steely Dan's "Only A Fool Would Do That" on the soundtrack for the movie "Me, Myself & Irene." Great cover (and this coming from a die-hard Steely Dan fan :) Pass the info on about this great band. More noise will only help them out :) FYI: Check out the official Ivy website (ivyvine.com)for three live MP3's.

The lead singer of Ivy has a sexy French accent, which kinda makes her sound like that chick out of Stereolab. Sultry vocalist aside, Ivy are a band you think you might hear in swanky cafes or hairdressing salons. Their smooth and charming melodies are what commerical radio is begging for. A nelglected gem of an album by an under-appreciated band.

I cannot believe this CD has not received more attention. I have not seen them on the Modern Tracks chart, nor on the Heatseekers chart for new artists. This CD really rocks, with great cuts like "The Best Thing" and "Get Out of the City", I cannot believe a group of this multitude has not seen better radio days. A definite HIT don't miss this one! Buy it before its out of print.

Ivy's sound has progressed and evolved since their first album was released several years ago, but they're still cranking out catchy songs with good lyrics, great crunching guitars that don't hurt your ears, and breezy vocals by Dominique Durand. A band like Ivy is just what this country needs to help us recover from the grunge hangover; it's a true must-have.

Buoyant soft indie-rock glides smoothly under the lilting euro-lounge vocals of Dominique Durand, a 90s Claudine Longet-like spoken breath singer. "Apartment Life" sounds like a day in one's apartment staring out the window musing about the cat on the sill and the meaning of life. "Get Out Of The City" is a catchy pop melody hopefully escaping a stillborn psyche and "Back In Our Town" is a haunting three part vocal that adds an ominous tone to this otherwise breezy scene.