Customer Reviews

Oyster

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many people have heard the infectious chorus to "Walk This World" without knowing who Heather Nova is. Whether it's due to low-key marketing or Nova's idiosyncracy, Oyster remains a delight.

On this album Nova begins a simpler, denser approach developed from the sparse acoustic-guitar-based sounds on first album Glow Stars. Some of her most memorable melodies can be found on this album: "Walk This World", with a throbbing bassline, breathy verses and a soaring chorus that indeed evokes the freedom that the lyrics aspire towards; "Sugar", a marriage of spoken-word narrative and tough electric-guitar rock; "Light Years", a sensual, dramatic ballad that conjures an image of Romeo and Juliet-calibre romantic passion; "Island", a dark tale of abuse and self-accusation; "Truth and Bone", whose chorus sounds simultaneously fresh and familiar, like it should've been written a long time ago; and "Maybe an Angel", one of the most straightforward pop compositions Nova has ever written.

A necessary, overlooked work, born of a rare clarity of expression and craft.

For me, a song that works is like finding a bicycle that is the right size for your chimp. Not everyone has ever trained a chimpanzee to ride a bicycle or picked up the words and chords to a song and found that the words suggest a melody so strongly that there is something internal that is felt exactly at the point on the paper where a chord coincides with one of the words. This is not likely to happen until the brain actually knows the song well enough to make an exterior combination of words and chords into an objective correlative for music that is entirely inside your head, but a chimp on a bicycle only needs to learn to balance and to make the pedals go around to get going.

The perfect example this morning is `Doubled Up,' the last song on the Heather Nova CD `Oyster' that I heard last night. The brain can learn to listen, but once the music is over, the brain tries to complete the experience by repeating the best part to itself, like a kid in Freud's book BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE that demands to hear a story over exactly the same way until the child is exhausted. The kid in Freud's book was obsessed with things that were out of sight. A single servant girl could take care of the kid when his mother was not at home, but his form of play with his toys was all "there" and "gone." I'm not going to explain that game. What is even better is that Heather Nova song:

Big sky above me, a river inside me
and I'm doubled up in love.

Feels good, it feels like poetry,
don't ask me to explain, it just
feels good, like poetry,
I'm doubled up again.

I was initially turned on to Heather Nova in 1995 when I heard "Walk This World" on the radio, and I thought, "This chick is cool." It wasn't until recently that I rediscovered her music through a friend, and I have never been more grateful. "Oyster" is a smooth ride -- beautiful, melodic compositions paired with a few of rockers.

The biggest rival on the album to "Walk This World" is probably "Sugar," which really kicks it. It's sweet and melancholy, a poetic piece until the growling guitar and drums come in and turn it into a raucous number almost worthy of the mosh pit. Heather isn't afraid to show her anger in this song, but she executes is far more effectively than a lot of mainstream artists I can think of. "Throwing Fire At The Sun" is also fun, more passionate than raucous, though.

Sensitive is probably the word the comes to mind most for the remainder of the tracks. "Doubled Up" is a tender love song, as is "Walking Higher." "Island" is a painful track, which I've heard was written in memory of Nicole Brown Simpson. The best track on the CD is probably "Verona," a rocker which is the sonic equivalent of tension and intensity, with powerful lyrics like "Romeo, you are priceless, lifeless, skipping star to scar to star."

I love this album! If you're new to Heather, this is probably your best bet -- it's her most diverse album, although if you're up for more of a mainstream or "upbeat" sound, you'd better go with Siren, but I think this definitely a superior album.

This is a superlative album and definitely one of my favorites. "Oyster" is one of those rare CDs whose every track is a gem--I can listen to it in its entirety without skipping a track. In my mind it stands out both sonically and lyrically. The melodies are beautiful and memorable, and Ms. Nova's soprano voice, though it does not sound highly trained, is pleasant, expressive, and never grating. Her wailing "blue black" in the haunting track Blue Black highlights the mesmerizing quality and sheer power of her voice. Both acoustic and electric guitar are present on this album and complement the varying intensity of each song. A refreshing surprise is the sound of a cello on many of the songs.

Although much of the album deals with love and relationships, Ms. Nova's lyrics take an original approach to this favorite subject of trite pop music. Her metaphors are fresh, e.g. "And the waves pull us in / There's something rising up and up" (Heal) and "I've got this crazy dream of stripping down to truth and bone" (Truth and Bone). Walk This World, sexually charged and probably the most upbeat song on the album, boasts an energetic, "hooky" chorus. The melancholy of Island, another stand-out track, captures the desperation and self-doubt felt by a victim of an abusive relationship. The last track, Doubled Up, is a simple and beautiful love song and perhaps the most optimistic track on the album (and, incidentally, always reminds me of Tori Amos' Twinkle).

"Oyster" is less upbeat and much more moody than Ms. Nova's later releases, "Siren" and "South," and it may be slightly less accessible, but I think it is the superior album. I recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys the genre of pop-rock-folk music and who appreciates intelligent lyrics and sensitive song-writing.

Upon hearing 'Walk This World' in '95, I ran straight to the music store to find the album for similar songs by the new artist. Over the years, I have found the lyrically meaningful collection of dark, but beautiful songs to be both timeless and priceless. I relate to and empathize with anyone echoing their sentiments. I eagerly awaited Nova's follow-up album, but found it lacking the dark and lyrically weighted material that I love so much on Oyster.

I have skimmed through the entire reviews for this album and no one really mentioned 'Maybe an Angel'. This is the song I like most off the album. When you listen to it, you will feel like me that even though her voice is a soft and smooth high-pitch one, yet it shows an incredible strength at the same time. And the music, oh boy, it is so catchy and is so compatible with her lyrics and wonderful voice. For me, this one song is worth spending money for. Her entire CD is not bad either. In fact it is excellent. Thanks to my friend, who introduced Dawson's Creek to me, through which I discovered her first from her Siren album and then this. I am plannig to get all of her CDs now. I can tell you that you will not be disappointed.

Heather Nova is better than all of the rest. If your tired of bubble gum pop (and I know I am) here is a singer who sings from the bottom of her soul. As a singer, I can tell you that her voice is also top notch. She has such a beautiful, sweet voice. This album is a little more deep than Siren is. I personally think that this CD is better than Siren because I think it is such a spiritual album. But, I also love Siren. Heather Nova in general is beautiful. Buy this CD and all of the others. The lyrics are heartfelt and her interpretation of her songs that she wrote is raw and expressive. You need this CD.

I can only echo what others have said -- Heather Nova's ''Oyster'' is one my favorite CDs. I bought ''Siren'' first, but I think I prefer ''Oyster'' a little more, if that's possible. Heather's lyrics, music and voice seem to touch me more than any other female singer-songwriter I've heard, and that's saying a lot. I can't wait for her next album!

Oyster opens with the brooding mid tempo rock number Walk This World, Heal is a tender ballad with lovely acoustic guitar whilst Island is a long passionate rock song with great vocals and evocative imagery. Love ballads like Light Years, Verona and Maybe An Angel are found alongside surges of aggressive rock. Sugar has plenty of tempo variation, starting out slow and atmospheric like a spoken poem, then developing into a full-blown rock number. I like the solemn drums and interesting arrangement of Throwing Fire At The Sun. A highlight of Oyster is the melodic pop song Truth And Bone with its poetic lyrics and hypnotic chorus. The poignant and tuneful Doubled Up In Love that concludes the album is my favorite. Nova seems to prefer complex arrangements where tender balladeering alternates with uptempo, powerful rock sections in many of her songs. Her music reminds me of both Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette. The style is an appealing blend of rock and pop and the album contains some exceptional songs.

Oyster is Novas Most Exciting Work, a journey through passion and sadness and melancholy in the most sublime artform that can remove every human nerve, the global point of view wich starts with "walk this world" is extended to the most beautifull track of this album "throwing fire at the sun" and then to pure love "maybe an angel" to intensity "sugar" to dreams "Verona" "i used to dream about Verona" heather sings, and then the romantic freedom of "island" and the tearing "doubled up" (with personal connotations in the soundtrack of my life i must admit), memories.........
taste Oyster, you will become an addict.
HM