A Fine Mess

Kate Voegele | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B0025X4OUW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,171 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Inside Out

2. 99 Times

3. Who You Are Without Me

4. Angel

5. Sweet Silver Lining

6. Playing With My Heart

7. Manhattan from the Sky

8. Talkin' Smooth

9. Lift Me Up

Editorial Reviews

You could say Kate Voegele is an overachiever. At 22 years old, the Cleveland, Ohio native has spent the better part of the last two years juggling life as a full-time singer-songwriter, part-time actress and a college student, rarely pausing to take a breath. "Multi-tasking has always been my thing," she says. "For my first album, I somehow scheduled my classes around recording sessions, and still got a 4.0 grade point average. Then I took a break from school and went on the road, but halfway through, I got offered One Tree Hill completely unexpectedly. That was when life got ridiculous."

Ridiculous in the sense that Voegele went from being a complete unknown to a TV star, and from a girl writing songs in her dorm room to a bonafide recording artist with legions of loyal fans, all in less than a year. Voegele is still pinching herself just to make sure it's really happening. "Sometimes I look around and wonder what I've done to deserve all this," she says with a laugh.

It was by virtue of her talent, vivacious personality and sheer determination that Voegele scored the tie-in of a lifetime: playing the spunky Mia on popular teen drama One Tree Hill, but performing her own music. Thanks to that confluence of events, her MySpace Records debut, Don't Look Away, sold close to a quarter million copies, climbed to No. 4 on the iTunes chart and sent Voegele upstream to Interscope (which has a distribution partnership with MySpace). Now Voegele is seeing her musical wish list come true with A Fine Mess, her second serving of undeniable pop-rock charm, produced by Mike Elizondo (Maroon 5, Fiona Apple) and scheduled for release in May 2009.

Brimming with optimism, first time independence and the wisdom that comes from one too many broken hearts, A Fine Mess is the continuation of a road Voegele was destined to travel, and, like every milestone in her career thus far, she navigates it with gusto. "It's easy to get caught up in trying to write hit songs when you're working on a second record," says Voegele. "But for me, it's about remembering why I started expressing myself through music in the first place -- how it came from a need to write and there was nothing mechanical about it. Those are the best songs, when I'm not thinking about it, which usually means that I write at really inconvenient times."

In Voegele's nomadic world, that means songs penned on airplanes and tour buses, cafés in Wilmington, North Carolina and hotel rooms in Los Angeles. "I got all this inspiration and a bunch of ideas from a year and a half on the road," she explains. "I've traveled to so many different places and had all these unexpected adventures with great people -- that's where this body of work comes from.

Case in point: "Manhattan From The Sky," a song which inspired the album's title. The piano-driven pure pop number, says Voegele, came to her from 30,000 feet above New York City. "I was just thinking about how Manhattan looks like a little piece of Lego," Voegele recalls, "but once you' re inside, it's totally crazy and messy and there's a wonderful chaos going on all around the city." The song debuted on the March 23rd episode of One Tree Hill, in what Voegele calls, "the most amazing set-up ever." She explains: "The coolest thing is how they worked the song into the show so that it enhanced the scene, and how the scene enhanced the song. So the viewer can watch Mia and a character named Chase talk about what it's like to see a city from the sky one week, and the next week see Mia sing 'Manhattan From The Sky' in the studio, then they can go on iTunes and buy the song. It's great to be working with people who are so genuinely excited about the music."

Voegele had her pick of producers for A Fine Mess, but was fixated on one in particular. "I told the label that I'd love to work with whoever did Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, and I'm also obsessed with Rilo Kiley's Under The Blacklight. Turns out, Mike Elizondo worked on both of those records. "To work with somebody who's able to execute what you're hearing in your head, it's not an easy thing to find," she says. "But when Mike was done, I was like, 'Oh my God, this is exactly what I had in mind when I wrote it on a napkin!'"

The album introduces itself with "99 Times," a gritty, hard-driving song that sees Voegele lashing out at the common frienemy. "It's about the different emotions you experience after finding out somebody you're close to has been feeding you a story that isn't true," she says. "You end up feeling stupid and pissed off and I guess I dealt with those emotions by putting on some black boots, messing up my hair, turning up the distortion on my guitar and getting in front of the mic to pretend I was Chrissy Hynde. That was pretty much all it took."

On the sweeping "Sweet Silver Lining," she sings of finding hope in times of grave misfortune. "Once I got out into the world, I saw that bad things happen to really good people -- people who were close to me," she explains of the track and its delicate clockwork rhythm. "I wrote it for myself, but hope it will inspire others." Voegele's attempt at a love song is the ballad "Forever and Almost Always," which she says matter-of-factly, is "one of most depressing songs on the record. It's about being in a relationship with somebody where you know their heart's not in it as much as yours, and how you're fed this story your whole life about everyone living happily ever after, but there's always that little bit of doubt. It's like that scene in the Sex And The City movie, where Carrie tells Charlotte's little girl, 'You know this is just a fairytale, right?' Its true!"

Among the album's many highlights is "Angel," which disavows peoples' perception of Voegele as an eternal good girl with a pounding piano melody that brings to mind Tori Amos' "Cornflake Girl" and Fiona Apple's "Criminal." "The whole idea that you have to be tortured to be an artist, it drove me nuts," she declares. "That frustration is what the song is about, where I say, maybe I didn't have a coke addiction or spend my nights getting hammered and dancing on tables, but I'm not this untouchable perfect girl on a pedestal." Along similar lines, Voegele strikes back at the smarmy pickup with the country-esque, "Talkin' Smooth," on which she snaps: "Did you replace the last two dozen names with mine? / Was I love you, baby, second nature by now? / Because it sounds awful rehearsed when it leaves your mouth." Ouch! "It's a fun song that's kind of sexy," she says. "It's saying, 'I'm on to you, in case you're an asshole.' Because so many guys are really good at B.S.-ing you, but I'm always suspicious of anyone that's talking smooth. It takes a lot to convince me that someone's genuine."

But don't worry, Voegele hasn't completely abandoned her good-natured side or her optimism. She's simply come to terms with the fine mess her world has turned into. "I could come up with a million reasons why that's an appropriate title," she says, "but really, it's just about how unpredictable life can be. It's a total rollercoaster that's out of your control and you have to be able to embrace the crazy ups and downs. That's your only option, pretty much, so you might as well enjoy it."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kate Voegele - A Fine Mess, May 22, 2009

By 

Aurora Borealis "(Morningside)" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Fine Mess (Audio CD)

1) Inside Out - 7/10
An energetic start to the album. Like her typical songs, it has a catchy chorus and it is very well written. However, at first listen, it blends in with the other songs.

2) 99 Times - 8/10
Her second single is full also powerful and full of energy but it has a rockier sound to it and it does sound more unique than the others. My friend didn't like it as much but then again, she likes slower songs and this song is anything but. It's great for dancing to.

3) Who Are You Without Me -9/10
This is her telling a guy to be more independent [I'm not a mirror, look inside yourself, I'm not a hero, you know too well. I'm not your savior, save your energy, to find out who you are, who you are without me.] She hits some great notes in the chorus.

4) Angel -9/10
This is a really great song, one of her digital singles. It's about her telling people that she may be a good girl but she's not a perfect, untouchable angel. It's another one of my favourites on the album.

5) Sweet Silver Lining -9/10
The intro reminded me of a music box and it turned out to be pretty close. This is a lovely and super encouraging song and you can hear her emotions transparently throughout the song as she states that she believes that no matter how bad a situation is, it will get better.

6) Playing With My Heart -8/10
Another rocky song with great verses that drew me right in. You can hear Kate's beautiful vocals throughout and especially since this song has a really cool beat.

7) Manhattan in the Sky -10/10
Beautiful lyrics and lovely metaphors. Its her first single from this album for a reason and this is my favourite song from the album. She gives you a clear picture of how Manhattan looks from the sky and sticks to the theme of the city throughout the song.

8) Talkin' Smooth -8/10
I also love the beat and the lyrics of this song. Kate is questioning whether this guy really means what he says or is she just another girl he's using his lines on. Very cute.

9) Lift Me Up -9/10
Another inspiring song used for the Olympics. The chorus gives you the mental imagery of flying so its no wonder that the cover of this single shows Kate holding some balloons. Some people say they like the Olympic version more (it's more acoustic) but I think the one of her album is better. Beautiful vocals.

10) Say Anything -6/10
There are better songs her album and this is not bad, it's just not as good as the others. Maybe I haven't listened to it enough but the chorus and verses sounded rather generic and I didn't hear Kate's special spark in this song.

11) Unfair -7/10
A lovely acoustic track. Just vocals and a guitar with a unique chorus. It's better than the previous track but it is also not as good as the others on the album. However, the way Kate sings it pulls this up.

12) Forever and Almost Always -10/10
This song blew me away. This time its vocals and a guitar and it equates to a beautiful and delicate song. I can almost imagine how the music video would be like, fairytale-ish and dreamy. Kate would look beautiful in it of course.
But back to the song, Kate doesn't sing a single dishonest note. You can hear her feelings and emotions so clearly. Another one of my favourites.

13) Playing With My Heart (Acoustic) -8/10
Like before but somehow I like the acoustic sound if I want to hear Kate's vocals properly. Great track.

14) We the Dreamers (Demo) -7/10
Another acoustic track. I can't really describe it very well so you should listen to it to really hear it. Although it's a demo, its well written and Kate can really feel what she's singing.

I think A Fine Mess is a very good album. I'm not going to compare it with Don't Look Away because I love them equally.
Kate's voice has gotten better and she has perfected her music talents. I can't wait to see what she releases next.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inside Out, July 2, 2009

By 

E. Anderson - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Fine Mess (Audio CD)

I have to confess I think "singer/songwriters" like Kate Voegele are a dime a dozen. I don't think she is bad per say but she really doesn't or hasn't done anything that already has been done before in pop music nowadays. Awhile back I was channel surfing when I came across the CW drama ONE TREE HILL. Kate Voegele was on it singing her song "Sweet Silver Lining". I couldn't help but like the song. On a whim I got a copy. I must say I actually like A FINE MESS. The album is a rather short but I rather have that than too long. The songs are quite catchy like "Inside Out" and "While You Are Without Me". The lyrics however are something to be desired. I find Kate's songwriting skills anything but interesting especially on songs like "99 Times". I also wish she would try to diversify her sound before she gets stuck in a rut. I do hope in the future Kate tries to branch out with her music because she does show potential as an artist.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kate, December 3, 2009

By 

Lisa H. Benson "Lisa" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Fine Mess (Audio CD)

I love KV and her music. However, I personally thought her first album 'Don't Look Away' was better. Then, her music was in the rock genre and every song was amazing. This album I felt was too poppy, not my original KV. See, KV's first album made me start loving music and this album just couldn't compare. Though I do love the songs 'Sweet Silver Lining' and 'Angel'.