Customer Reviews

Fishermans Woman

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Emiliana Torrini emerged around 1999, at least in the US and most of Europe, heralded as a voice belonging to Bjork's coven, a comparison I always found more related to their common homeland, Iceland, than a deeply strong sisterhood of sound.
Although 'Love In The Time Of Science" did bring to mind some of Bjork's occasional lullaby-like phrasings, and the album's arrangements did rely on subtle and timely Electronica, Torrini was already promising to be her own person, someone with something genuine and personal to say.
"Fisherman's Woman," her new album, is that promise fulfilled. Her voice, in this new album, is more confident, more decisive while never raising beyond a tender hush, a perfect tone to deliver lyrics that are at once revelatory, thoughtful and yet innocent and uncomplicated.
The thought that came to mind -please allow an unexpected metaphor here- is that the songs follow each other like geese migrating toward warmth, each of them distinct yet flying at the same altitude and with a common destination.
But don't let the sweetness of these tunes confuse you about the strength of their confessional power. Whether it is the short title song, the painful and beautiful "Today Has Been OK," or the gorgeous melody of the album's first single, "Sunnyroad," Emiliana weaves images into stories that you may feel she's only singing to you.
Equally worthy of recognition are the melodies and the band, particularly Dan Carey -who plays some unassumingly beautiful and intelligent guitar, as well as bass and pedal steel- and the subtle piano of Julian Joseph. This and the intimacy that Emiliana's voice is capable of, also shows decisively in "Snow," and "Lifesaver" with its bewitching cadence and the brilliant sample that sounds like the creaking wood of a boat swaying.
If you come to Torrini for the first time, I can't imagine you not finding enough to remain near, for repeated listenings. And if you were already touched by Emiliana's earlier releases, I predict that you will be elated with this album. She has become her own self yet more deeply, an old skin has shed and made space for a new one.
This is a brilliant album, confirming a voice and a sound that has much more offer to new singers than it owes to the ones that precede her.

Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini captured the audience's ears with the exquisite "Gollum's Song" in the second "Lord of the Rings" movie, then with her U.S. debut "Love in the Time of Science." Now her long-awaited fourth album, "Fisherman's Woman" has come -- and it was worth the wait.

In "Love in the Time of Science," the sound was exotic trip-hop. This time around, Torrini opts for a more organic sound. For instance, the downtempo "Lifesaver" sounds like it was recorded in a boat -- there are wooden creaks just under Torrini's gentle acoustic guitar and wistful vocals, as if she were sitting in the middle of a lake when she recorded it.

That same feeling sticks to the other songs on the album. Torrini seems to be thinking about loss, but her songs are never really quite tragic: the opener "Nothing Brings Me Down" is a good example, with its stripped-down guitar-and-piano sound, followed by the exquisite "Sunny Road," and ending with the entrancingly dark "Serenade."

It's a pretty drastic thing to change your sound after a successful first album. But Torrini not only does it, she succeeds again. The same sense of eerie romance that was in "Love in the Time of Science" is in "Fisherman's Woman" as well, but it's more intimate. And sad. As beautiful as Torrini's trip-hop is, her acoustic ballads are just as lovely.

Don't expect programming. No trip-hop. Torrini opts for a more organic sound this time around, mainly using guitar for the instrumentation. A few other things pop up -- sound samples, piano -- but guitar is the heart and soul of the music. And Torrini's voice doesn't lose any of its beauty because of the lack of production. "And it's funny how your cause/makes no sense at all," she sings in "Lifesaver." For someone so sad, she sounds almost playful.

With her last album, Emiliana Torrini showed that she was a pop singer to watch. In the intimate "Fisherman's Woman," she proves that her fourth effort was worth the wait.

I've liked the work of Emiliana Torrini since she first came onto the music scene here in Iceland. She has always managed to stay fresh and grounded through out her career.

I just wanted to point out, that many people wrote in their reviews that she had changed from being bright and "the sense of endless summers" into someone so sorrowfull. Well, the reason is, her boyfriend died very suddenly and this album is sort of a memory of him. I don't know when he died, but I read a interview she gave here in Iceland and there she talked about how music helped her. I think that this album is the greatest gift she could give in his honor.

While an established artist, Emiliana Torrini, has never been properly recognized. With a voice like Bjork, an ability to create wonderful trip-hop tracks and a clear talent, Torrini released "Love In The Time of Science." With her new album, however, she loses the electronic aspect and just sticks with her raw talent and vocals as she creates an underestimated lounge album that channels Nick Drake.

"Sunny Road" is the album's star. With only a guitar in hand and a haunting voice, Torrini moves you with this exquisite track. The lyrics are written like a letter, so that you will feel like each track is written directly towards you, a quality she keeps throughout much of the album.

"Lifesaver" is low key, but powerful. "Today Has Been OK" is another subtle track with its quiet chimes and piano complementing the painful lyrics. "Fisherman's Woman" and "Snow" may be over before you know it, but their effects are long lasting.

While the album rarely deviates from its gentle beats, each song brings another unique Euro-Folk love song. In the album's fastest track (which is really saying something), "Heartstopper" reels the audience in with its honest lyrics of true love and use of instruments. The album continues a sweet and mellow trend with "Serenade."

"Next Time Around" is the most complex song on the album as she boosts her vocals to something more powerful. The instrumentals are intricate.

This album does not have the dance quality like "Love In The Time Of Science," but this album has an amazing calming effect. Slip it in before bed and you will smoothly be put to sleep to her comforting vocals. On a rainy day in the car, this CD will slow down time as you are drawn into Torrini's melodic and emotional world. Or simply just enjoy this album like it is a private concert for yourself.

With such an intimate setting, however, some of the songs tend to bore rather than capture. "Honeymoon Child" may float right past you without even realizing it. "Thinking Out Loud" is too quiet for its own good.

Simple. Emotional. Raw. This album does not carry all the bells and whistles of her previous album, but Emiliana Torrini's newest entry is a quiet victory for atmospheric albums all over.

Grade : B+ (88)

Download : Emiliana Torrini - Heartstopper, Emiliana Torrini - Sunny Road, Emiliana Torrini - Lifesaver, Emiliana Torrini - Serenade, Emiliana Torrini - Today Has Been Ok

Skip It : Emiliana Torrini - Thinking Out Loud

I think it is safe to call Torrini talented. While not completely mainstream her abilities as an artist are strong enough for her to act as a substitute for Enya in the Gollum number of Peter Jackson's cinematic behemoth. It is a shame that most of her fans are not appreciating this record for what it is, which is a minimalistic, poignant, cathartic masterpiece.

This is not a happy record. The most prevalent tone is one of mourning (even the title suggests it) and she replaces her electronic sound with emotions. And yet it is not a depressing sadness that you get. What you get is the kind of sadness that makes you want to go to a coffee shop in Iceland just to stare out the window and perhaps pick up smoking and all the time... smiling It is that beautiful.

It is not an easy record either. It is harder to get into than love in the time of science with its very obvious melodies and in your face synths. This record is almost completely acoustic. It is also not easy to describe either so let me sum this up and let you read other reviewers attempts.

If you have ever been in a bar and the lounge singer is being mostly ignored by other patrons for a while but eventually every body starts to glance up at her occasionally as if to say, "You know that is true, it does feel like that sometimes doesn't it? How did you know?" Then this is the record for you.

Highly recommended.

We have to acknowledge the fact that this album is not the inheritor of the trip hop beauties of Love in the Time of Science. Like so many lasting artists such as Bjork or Beck (and even to a certain degree Belle & Sebastian), the mood, music and personality change over time. Don't get me wrong, I adore Love in the Time of Science and there are no bad songs on it. Fisherman's Woman is different but also ethereal and beautiful. And I think that given how polished she is, we forget this is a sophomore effort. Amazing when you think about it.

It feels like a low-key, paired down cousin of folk and pop both. The album starts out with a semi-melancholic strum from Nothing Gets Me Down. Immediately we are in a different country, but then Emiliana's familiar accented vocals remind us of where we are. I personally find that one of the charms of her music is her breathy singing style where you can hear many nuances, this is even better live!

The second song, Sunny Road, was one of the more popular singles and is fairly upbeat. Like her prior album, storytelling unfolds and we learn about some of her life decisions that led to the years between these two albums (at least that is my interpretation). Emiliana has grown up and become more eloquent in Fisherman's Woman. Since her first album, which was full of innocent and sweetly foreign images, she has delved into the language and the emotions, and come up with more controlled, complex jewels.

My favorites:
Honeymoon Child - comes on with a sort of unearthly, wavering music that sets you up for the lyrics. Her voice is amazingly highlighted in this track.
Heartstopper - the most like her former album, an upbeat and fun song - "Outside your house to make a scene / in my head you grabbed me passionately / but the lights are out and in hour / I walked home in the pouring shower".
Serenade - sweet and soft, makes me want to dance alone in the dark before the dawn. Seriously, another gorgeous tune.

In a word: enchanting! You have to be willing to enjoy and put in a little work for her second album, but it's definitely worth it. It's not as "easy" as the first, but nor is it as simple. I can't wait for album #3.

PS: So now you know that lots of fans love this album too. If you're in it for the long haul, Emiliana Torrini is a rewarding and amazing artist. I love how her music has changed. But if you're mainly a trip hop/pop fan, or you're just not into the low-key music, then it may not be for you. Isn't it great that we can all love different things? ;-)

Making her American debut in 1999 with the flawless and intense "Love in the Time of Science", Emiliana Torrini established herself as one of trip-hop's finest and a muscician to watch for years to come. After a six year hiatus, along with a song on the "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" soundtrack ("Gollum's Song"), collaborations with Thievery Corporation, and writing a #1 dance hit for Kylie Minogue ("Slow"), she is back--and with a new sound strumming from her fingers. "Fisherman's Woman" is a complete revolution from "Love in the Time oc Science", drenched in melancholy folk music. Ms. Torrini has incorporated so much nature into this album, focusing on hurt and recuperation, that it sometimes sound as if her and her production team fled into the remote forests and lakes of Iceland, recorded music and came back to see what had come into the mix. Some beatiful things include the creaking of a boat, the lovely way in which Torrini strums her guitar and, of course, that voice. She cooes and swoons her way through her music, allowing listeners to feel her pain and happiness, then relies on her guitar to do the rest, which does quite well. What is amazing about this album is how she has gone from hard-core trip-hop ("Love....") to folky acoustic music. In all, it is an amazing sophmore album and a great step in her creativity. Fitted for a lazy afternoon or an hour of creativity, "Fisherman's Woman" is bound to make you want to be that very fisherman of which she speaks.

Anyone who thinks this album is too quiet or the songs are "all alike" isn't listening. Every song is a world unto itself. These are the best lyrics I've seen on a single album in probably 15 years. This is not music to rock along to in your car. I've heard it over and over and think I know it. And suddenly some song will jump out--its real message--and I'll see the world in a new way. People who want art to cheer them up. . .this is not for you. People who want art to change your life. . .try it.

I love this album because Emiliana's music takes a more Nick Drakesque turn. It's very deep, and its quite sweet, I listen to it every night before I go to bed because it's so comforting. The music is an acoustic guitar, sometimes accompanied by a piano or bass. The lyrics are the real draw to her music, My favorite song thus far is "fisherman's woman" because of the description in the lyrics. My caution in regards to this album is that if your used to her more electronic music,or your used to music with a bit more of a beat, then this album IS NOT for you.

Torrini's sophmore album bares little resemblance to her first masterpiece, "Love in the Time of Science." "Fisherman's Woman" is strictly a light, acoustical production with none of the deep bass lines or trip-hop flare of her previous work. What Torrini preserves, however, is her wonderful gift of poetic songwriting. She has an uncanny talent of stringing common words together into meaningful, yet playful lyrics.

As one can infer by the album's title, "Fisherman's Woman" evokes feelings of a simplier life and times. Arrangements are beautifully minimalistic, assembled with great care to accentuate Torrini's breezy voice and laymen's lyrics. In "Love in the Science of Space," her voice often seemed to play second fiddle to the wondrously rich music. In "Fisherman's Woman," however, Torrini's voice clearly takes center stage, with sparse stringed and percussive instruments serving as accompaniment.

Like her previous album, I don't believe there are any particular standouts simply because I find every song wonderfully engaging (I suppose if I had to pick, track #6, "The day has been okay," is very endearing). Torrini's two albums serve as a strong testament to her consistent skills as a lyricist and songwriter. For whatever reason, many musical artists disappear after their second showing. I pray Torrini does not join their ranks. It would be an utter shame to lose a bonafide creative talent in today's sea of mediocre performers pretending to be true artists.