Customer Reviews

Fires

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Only heard of Nina a couple of weeks ago when EGTW was mentioned as being #1 in a writer's playlist in a USA Today article.

Ordered this album from Amazon and have been playing it constantly ever since. Damascus is my favorite song. Really shows off her beautiful voice and great tune.

I've seen her called "the new Carol King" and that drew me to her because I'm a long time Carol fan, but I would say she is more similar to Sarah MacLachlan and Tori Amos.

EDIT:
After listening to this for the past few weeks, I've become more and more enamored of Nerina's beautiful music.

Damascus I listen to over and over. When I finally decide to go to the next track I get stuck on repeating Idaho for awhile. I think these two songs could really win Nerina some US fans and would promote those for US radio listening.

For deeper cuts I would add
Learning to Breathe
Geek Love
All Good People
and Halfway Home

I would avoid pushing Everybody's Gone To War. Why get in the middle of political squabbles as a newly introducted artist. Let fans discover it on their own.

Songs like Mr. King grow on me the more I hear them. Not a weak song on the entire album. One of the strongest albums I've heard in awhile. Nerina's voice is like another instrument and reminds me of Dave Matthews in that regard. I find myself listening to their voices for months before I ever get curious enough to see what the actual words to the song are. Then I find a deeper appreciation of the interesting, emotional lyrics.

If you're a serious modern rock/alternative music fan. Don't miss listening to this album at least once!

If you haven't heard of Nerina Pallot, I don't know where you have been. She has had so much media hype and 5 star reviews in all the right places. And for once, the hype can be believed! "Fires" is incredibly good, incredibly strong and you won't be able to get enough of this album. Nerina plays the guitar and piano on the album as well as writing all the songs. She has a crystal clear voice with a great range, which adds oodles of flavor to the album. Her song "Everybody's Gone To War" is simply outstanding. I think we will be hearing much more from Nerina in the future and I thing this is an album well worth owning.

This CD is as perfect a slice of pop music heaven as you will ever find. I can only compare the passion I feel for it with the response I had to Carole King's "Tapestry" and Joni Mitchell's "Court & Spark," in which each song is a mini-masterpiece of melodic, harmonic, and lyrical perfection. Nerina Pallot is an absolutely tremendous talent.

The music on Fires is very different in mood from that of both King and Mitchell, but like the best songs and albums of her forerunners, Pallot's are stunningly beautiful, unforgettably tuneful, deeply haunting, and irresistably catchy. You will find yourself playing Pallot's album again and again, growing in admiration with every listen for her literate songwriting, heartfelt singing, lush orchestrations, and powerful rock beat.

I want to tell everyone I know about this British singer-songwriter, and I look forward to hearing her newest album. Unfortunately, she's only had substantial success in Europe, but with any luck she'll tour North America soon. You owe it to yourself to hear her music; it's a work of genius. And once you've heard it, you'll want to own it.

I bought this record after hearing it on KCRW. A great purchase. There is a reason that Nic Harcourt plays certain music and it is because sometimes it means something more than words. This is one of those records that echoes Tori, Joni, Nick Drake, and others and deserves to be heard. If she was on a major she would be this years Norah Jones. A record worth listening to.....

If you haven't bought this album yet, do so. Be the first of your set to discover how good Nerina is.

This is her second album, but the first on an independent label with nobody telling her what to write and how she should sound. She sounds a little like Carol King on Tapestry and her lyrics are like Paul Simon at his best. Worth listening and relistening too.

At the moment she's unknown, but this stuff deserves to sell, pop music written with soul, a songwriter who writes about life with wit and real musical style.

I play 'Geek Love' every half hour in the car, a funny song about searching for love and finding that clinging together is better than standing apart.

Brilliant pop songs, recorded in the US by a little British girl, absolutely wonderful.

A mix of the expected and stunning originality, "Fires" is a superb effort from emerging British singer-songwriter Nerina Pallot. With a voice reminiscent of Anna Nalick and a poppier Sheryl Crowe, she doesn't sound too out of the ordinary. But her songs are magic, she brings a new level of ease to the listening experience. Not challenging, the whole album is a joy to listen to as the songs are all equally magic.

"Fires" mixes radio-friendly hits with emotional piano ballads. The style is far from confronting, yet that is the essence of this album. Nerina succeeds in impressing her listener by not being too showy. The album is amazing because of it's simplicity. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Nerina doesn't feel the need of bearing everything or trying to limit the listener's pleasure by writing songs in morse code (a la Tori Amos lyrics).

The simplicity is astounding, but Nerina still managed to confuse me. I was confused by just how poignant this album. After repeated listens, it unravels and reveals itself as a magical piece of art.

She's not groundbreaking, but who needs to be in this day and age? Artists are always deliberately pushing soundscapes to new startospheres, creating primal scream hypnosis (Diamanda Galas), trying to imitate sex (Janet Jackson) and bombarding us with faux-rap over the internet (Sandie Thom, Lily Allen). It's just nice to hear the simple things done exquisitely.

"Fires" is a refreshing listen, sure I've heard the same formula before. But, this time, it's done with poignancy and honesty. I wouldn't be surprised if her next album becomes a Grey's Anatomy success. That would be a real detriment to her talent though. She is too exceptional for such a run of the mill show.

I am trying to figure out the one 3 star review. What were they listening to? This is a great CD. One way you can tell is look at the other reviews to see what songs they mention as their favorites. 9 of the 11 tracks are mentioned. In a world with 2 good tracks per CD, this one has at least nine. And the two not mentioned are really good. Simply the best CD I have heard in at least 10 years. Her first CD was very good, and she has been releasing some new tracks on her My Space page, and they sound great. She has songs on there that she is leaving off her new CD, and they are better than most anything else I am hearing right now. She has a chance to be around for a long time, what with her mix of piano songs, guitar based pop songs, and great singing. She is a keeper, and this is a great example why.

Nerina is an awesome artist. This CD is definitely worth picking up. She needs airplay in the U.S. and our help to do it. I highly recommend this CD be in everyone's collection.

Nerina Pallot is an intelligent, literate songwriter with an ear for a good melody and much of her new album Fires is about a complex personality trying to navigate the worlds many complexities.

Opener 'Everybody's Gone To War' would have been nicely cast for the opening credits of Mike Moore's recent movie Fahrenheit 9-11, it somehow seems to capture the utter senselessness of war in the form of a catchy, upbeat pop song.

The big production number 'Idaho' sees Nerina Pallot at her most convincing - it's a powerful, surging song about packing up and starting afresh, all the while knowing you can't run from your problems. For me, Idaho is the pick of the bunch - you could just imagine it being a monster hit for someone like Kelly Clarkson (thankfully it's not).

Elsewhere listening to Fires can feel like a game of pick the influences, Carole King and Tori Amos often come to mind, and whether by accident or design 'Damascus' is pure Aimee Mann.

Fires may not be a masterpiece but there is definitely enough quality in these 11 songs to commend it and fans of the likes of Sarah Harmer should feel right at home.

Smart lass, good voice, great melodies. Groovy album.