Customer Reviews

Ciao, Baby

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Start has been around for a while - they've been touring solid for years now and have been doing pretty well when it comes to accompanying acts "of the moment." That says something on the ability of the band and their vocal style - so many sounds come and so many sounds go but The Start has managed to remain under the vocals of Aimee Echo (see cover photo). Better still as a testament to their endurance is the type of bands they run with, with the band kicking it with a montage of acts that vary both in their audio outlook and also in their respective genres. Their old label didn't quite appreciate all of this, however, from the work they put into building themselves up while in motion to the fans they've managed to accumulate through almost nonstop touring, but luckily Metropolis-Records was less nearsighted about the band and saw the potential as they picked up The Start rather quickly.
And now enter Ciao, Baby.

Everyone I know that has listened to the album all the way through has had nothing to say but good things about it. Ciao, Baby has a really good dance sound that makes you want to move, taking both the beats and the vocals and forging them into something that fits the dancefloor like a nicely woven sweater, and the undercurrent of material is really good to listen to and has a beautiful gem called substance sewn into it. I personally like catching little ballads with lines like "girl, tonight you were dead for a while" hidden in the lining because, well, its good stuff. Further, I saw them perform songs from this album not too long ago and kept thinking how well it sounded as the music coursed through the audience and entered my bloodstream, and even now I can still recall how well the flow of the music meshed with the atmosphere filling the room. That's one good thing about The Start - if you need something to take a room and turn its tempo toward both "pretty" and "party" you can do that without sacrificing quality.
Personally I like some of the hidden wording, the "I've done very bad things (and) I have no excuses."

If you're looking for something that fits the EBM/ electronic platform you've come to crave from your music, The Start is a healthy dose of goodness and will make you happy with your purchase. I am reminded somewhat of the 80s, a little of the clubbing 90s, and a pieces of the now. Female vocals, a good beat; sometimes you need something to get you past all the mundane music that haunts the world and this certainly helps matters a lot.
If you want to know more on the subject, go to Metropolis-Records and check them out. You should be pretty happy with the find.

(actual score: 4.5)

I've been a fan of The Start for a few years now and have been anxiously anticipating this album. Nearly 3 hours since their last album comes "Ciao, Baby".

I've had the chance to listen to the album a few times through so far and am overall very happy with it - it keeps the "The Start" sound from the past albums and just improves on it. I was a bit worried with this as I've had a few of my favorite artists take a few years off and come back with a completely different (and not necessarily for the better) sound. One noticeable difference is the transfer towards the calmer tracks on this album - where the prior ones had fast paced "rock" songs, this one goes more for the slightly slower (or, when fast paced, disco/techno rock type songs).

Overall, it's a great album - aside from 1 or 2 tracks that I didn't care for all too much, I love almost every song on the disc. I was a bit disappointed with the low track count and play time (10 tracks clocking in at about 38 minutes) but it's better than nothing!

If you're a theSTART fan, do yourself a favor and pick this one up!

"Ciao, Baby" is excellent. It's a very "dance-y" album, but some of the lyrics are much darker than the music would have you believe. It's closest in style to their first album, "Shakedown!".
As for comparisons to Gwen...Gwen's solo music is fluff, THIS has substance.
"Just A Fantasy," "Fix," and "Wartime" are my favorite tracks, but all of them are strong--I haven't found any that I want to skip past.
Aimee is a master with lyrics--you'll find yourself wanting to write some of the lines down and remember them. The vocals are sultry. And what's really impressive about this album is that Jamie did all the instruments himself, and flawlessly.

Trust me, this cd is worth it for the album art alone...

I might be biased as I'm a Start superfan *but* I like it! It's got the basic tS elements but a more polished feel. It's clear the time opening for Garbage had its effect on Aimee ;) Aside from theirs & Goldfrapp's influences- the record has a distinct retro sound- if you didn't know when it came out you might assume it came out in the '80s! They've managed to make their most musically upbeat album so far, but luckily, they've done it without losing those classic intense lyrics!

I am thoroughly impressed by this album. I have known about and loved theSTART since 2000, and I have watched their sound evolve throughout the past few years. I have loved a lot of it, and some of it not so much. However, this album is amazing, better than Shakedown!, I dare say. My only complaint is that it is short. But, the lyrics and music are strong. Runaway is brilliant.

First, theStart is an amazing band. I own every album of theirs and love each one. Needless to say, I certainly had high expectations for this album.

I was not disappointed. My favorite song so far is Millionaire. The sound of this album is not as guitar heavy as Shakedown and Initiation. It experiments with different sounds and is more closely aligned with their self-proclaimed "dance music from the future" description. All in all, absolutely amazing.

this album is indeed a little different than what we are used to from the start, but if you have ever been to see them live you can really feel how this fits their personalities. I wrote a long review before but it somehow got deleted... :( oh well...

best trax on the cd are
3. Just a fantasy: grinding crunchy synth and one of the best hooks on the album
5. Millionare: Love the production values... great rhythmic dance between the vocals and music... and I love the lyrics!
7. Master Plan: Lyrics that have a message that is a little deeper than some of the messages seem to be... kinda hits home at parts.
8. Fix: love the flow from verse to bridge to hook and back to verse... and alot like #3 it's got a great hook :)

all in all a great cd... best one since shakedown :)

I have every theSTART record to date, love them since I saw the video for Gorgeous. This album is definitely a departure from their previous efforts, experimentation is not always welcomed by fans, but the record is an overall good listen, I went through the whole thing on my way back from work, and never did I feel this wasn't a theSTART record, there's not one track that is awfully disappointing, misplaced maybe, but yet there's not one that is devastating to the album as a whole.

Not great, not their best, but a solid experimental record, if you are new to theSTART I recommend their older stuff, specially the Death Via Satellite EP and Initiation, unless you are really into dance rock, then you will really love this one.

This album is amazing and I can't stop listening to it. I first found out about them by some link referring to them in the lines of Siouxsie....and well, anything related to Siouxsie I will probably like. I saw their video for "The 1234" and loved their sound. First two albums were OK....then this one came out and floored me. I got to see them live for the first time last night in NYC and was even more stunned with their sound live....and Aimee is a extremely engaging peformer. Check them out.

then get this album!! i am sooo happy with this new album by The Start. I have been a long time fan of them, Ciao Baby delivers a new wave dance your heart out from begining to end!!! The Starts vision for this album is everything that they said it would be. The music is done wonderfully and Aimee Echos vocals are amazing!!