Customer Reviews

Instinct

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Mandalay combines several styles, all of which revolve around moody, haughty, almost trance-like themes. Mandalay is the work of Nicola Hitchcock and Saul Freeman. Nicola's voice, in my opinion, is what sets Mandalay apart from the crowd. Both fragile and powerful, her singing evokes the sort of emotive response that reminds you why you listen to music in the first place. Nicola's vocal talents are perfectly complemented by Saul's music. To borrow a quote from their website, Mandalay's music is "...weathered yet pristine...set to complex instrumental hues, yet instantly accessible."

If you are the sort of music-lover that has moved beyond Top-40, this one is definitely worth your time. If it helps, here are some comparable artists (some are closer than others, I know)
Bel Canto
Delerium
Sarah MacLachlan
Claire Voyant
Love Spirals Downwards
Alpha
Baxter
Coldplay
Skunk Anansie
Abra Moore
Olive
Everything But The Girl
Waterlillies
Café Del Mar

Discography: Empathy (1998), Instinct (2000), Solace (compilation album, set for US release April 2001) ....

I found a copy of the "Solace" compilation which includes tracks off "Instinct" in the used cd bins where I shop and less than two weeks before it was going to be officially released. Remembering how much I liked the song "This Life" from "The Next Best Thing" soundtrack, I immediately rescued this cd from the used bins. It didn't take me long to become infatuated with Mandalay and their intricate melodies. "Beautiful" just took my breath away and almost made me weep. I haven't heard anything as gorgeous as "Beautiful", and "Deep Love". Nicola Hitchcock's fragile voice reminded me of Saint Etienne's Sarah Cracknell and Solar Twins's Joanna Stevens at times. I hope to see more from this duo in the future.

"You're not seventeen/To be missing him like/You do," murmurs Nicola Hitchcock. Mandalay's sophomore album "Instinct" sticks to that song's style -- wistful, trembling trip-hop. These are romantic ballads for the fragile romantic lurking in your heart.

It opens with "Not Seventeen," a wistful ballad that dwells on how a girl can miss her love, and tries to stem her feelings by saying that "I'm not innocent/ And I know that I could/I'm not seventeen/And I know that you're not/To blame." But it's made clear that her feelings won't be denied, as Hitchcock trembles her way to the end.

"Not Seventeen" followed by equally exquisite songs like "It's Enough Now," a breathily urgent pop song, the wounded fragility of "Like Her," and the soaring "Deep Love." Only the trippy, discordant "Don't Invent Me" sheds the vulnerability -- though the song is as lovelorn as ever, it sounds stronger and almost playful.

"Instinct" leans a bit more on the trip-hop than the pop edge, with a bit of symphonic grandeur mixed in with the horns and strings (or electronic approximations of them), paired with sparkling electronic waves. This is definitely music to slow-dance to -- the sweet tone and abundance of love songs demands it.

Hitchcock's voice is the heart of Mandalay. Her singing is a bit wobbly and very sweet, like a lost child; the trembling vocals in "Not Seventeen" add to the sense of frightened innocence. And her songs are quite pretty. They're a bit high-school-love-poetry in their simplicity, but they are pleasant, especially when they stay simple. It's strangely touching when she sings "The simple things/The time reveals/Will heal your mind/In simple things/The time reveals/You will be mine."

But if Hitchcock is the heart, then Saul Freeman's electronic production is the soul. He creates a downtempo, almost jazzy sound, but switches over to soundscapes that stop just short of being epic, and the cascading electronic waves. "Don't Invent Me" is particularly blessed, with its horns and shooting-star effects.

"Instinct" is a worthy second album for Mandalay, a group that sadly only made four. Exquisite, fragile and deeply romantic, this is Portishead as a vulnerable teenager.