Customer Reviews

Unfold

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first stumbled upon Marie' Digby on YouTube a while ago, when a friend linked me to her acoustic cover of Rihanna's hit "Umbrella". I was told that a cute girl with a guitar did a good cover of the song that drove me up the wall, and that I had to check it out. I've been hooked to Ms. Digby's music ever since.

For those who have heard Marie's music through her YouTube videos, the first comment that I will make is that the record sounds nothing like the acoustic/ coffeehouse style/ stripped down versions that exist online. This record has all the makings of a slickly produced pop record, with some extra gloss thrown in for good measure. The record is extremely refined, and sounds, well, like a pop record in terms of production. With that being said, that does not take away from Marie's beautiful voice, amazing songwriting abilities, and gorgeous looks. I would have, however, preferred a record that sounded a bit more organic in terms of production, but you can't have it all I suppose.

One highlight on the record is the extremely catchy hook of "Traffic", a song that I first fell in love with from her online video. I still prefer the acoustic version better, but still a great track nonetheless. The raw emotion that Marie' expresses through her autobiographical tune "Miss Invisible" is evident in the recording, and is absolutely brilliant. "Unfold", "Beauty in Walking Away", "Better off Alone" and "Voice on the Radio" are other tracks that are must listens.

Marie's keeps it simple with respect to her songwriting, sticking to autobiographical story telling in her lyrics paired with simple melodies. Beauty in simplicity. Overall, a great record by a great artist. Marie' deserves all the accolades in the world, and she has put together a great record here. A record that stands on its own two feet when compared with other in the pop-rock genre. A must listen.

One thing comes to mind when I review or listen to any new singer/songwriter who is a young woman (ages 17-24). I don't critique their voices, but the other production values of the album. I don't mean this in a bad way but all of their voices sound alike. Michelle Branch. Bonnie McKee. Sara Bereilles. Kate Voegele. These are great singer/songwriters who are young and balance that line of pop and rock. And now there's Marie Digby. But the thing is - listen to all of their songs. With the exception of a few songs and chords, they mostly sound the same. Great voices - all of them (Voegele's Don't Look Away tends to have a little more range in terms of her electric guitar-playing and her vocals, which I like). So I tend to pay more attention to the music and the lyrics. One of the greatest of this group that I had heard was Michelle Branch and her debut album The Spirit Room. The others are all good as well. They have infectious hooks that leave you bopping your head to their melodies. They all write about love and relationships and their as-yet-unknown place in the world. And they're all very pretty and extremely talented. Marie Digby also has all these things; even being beyond pretty; beautiful is the word I'm looking for here. But where she differs from the others is her extremely experienced lyrics (that surpass the previous artists) for someone who has just broken into the music business. This sounds more like a sophomore album (at the least) as opposed to a debut album.


The first song, "Fool," with its acoustic guitar by Miss Digby herself sets the pace for this album. The song is about a young woman singing of a man she fell in love and/or hooks up with who turned out to be a fool and a waste of her time. Safe to say that most young women and girls can relate to such a song and the catchy chorus gets the album off to a good start. The song really kicks in, though, around two-and-a-half minutes when the bridge comes on. One may think it with this first song, but, trust me, this isn't some boyfriend-bashing album. The next song, "Better Off Alone," reveals some of Marie's self-deprecating traits with a lyric like, "I'm really just a loser/Who's getting in your way/I think you've forgotten/All of your plans." The song is an uptempo "it's not you, it's me"-lyric but with more depth, as the singer explains why they don't work as a couple anymore. A nice theme for heartbreakers everywhere, this song is only the first testament to how unaware Marie Digby is of her beauty.


"Say It Again" is the third song and it is pop rock in all its glory (much like Michelle Branch's All You Wanted) with lyrics of a newfound love and the bliss that comes with it. But the songwriting is not as cutesy as one would presume. Digby writes her lyrics in a true young woman's unpretentiousness and the music sprints along wonderfully with a great piano jab near the end. One of the most important songs on the album follows. The fourth track, "Miss Invisible," is also yet another glimpse into Marie's unaware beauty. This ballad (written by Digby alone) is sung about a girl in school who's never noticed by anyone and who often keeps to herself because of her shyness, awkwardness and clumsiness, but yearns for someone to "look a little harder" and "put yourself in her shoes." One of the most deeply moving songs from someone in this genre and it's enough to make me fall in love with this girl as I'm sure every boy would. With that touch of - what I like to call - "Springsteen-onian storytelling"(tm), the hopeless song soon turns on just a glimmer of hope at the very end and it's a nice ending to a beautiful song.


"Stupid for You" as terrible a song title as it may seem is actually set apart from most of the other songs on the album. It starts off with a Hammond organ before going into a steady beat and the other instruments catch on with the chorus, leading the song to sound like the perfect end song of a teen rom-com. Its simplicity works very well and it sounds different from most of her other songs, sounding very similar to a Sara Bereilles song. The sixth track is "Girlfriend" and for such a basic song title there's a tremendous amount of emotional depth and self-awareness in this song. Digby is admitting that she has no interest whatsoever in a relationship while she's still trying to find who she is and where her place is in the world. In a world where girls are trying to grow up too fast and take interests in the same things their boyfriends are interested in, I think it's vital for girls to listen to this song; to know that it's OK to establish yourself first as your own person before getting into a relationship. Although she often doubts her choice and yearns for the object of affection being sung to, she solidifies her stance and stands by it with the conclusion of the song.


"Traffic" finds Marie using her ranging vocals to sing about a love that she's trying to get over; probably the same one she previously sang about on "Girlfriend." I wasn't too impressed with this song as it seemed a bit too wishy-washy for me. Fortunately, it leads into the intriguing ballad epic of "Voice on the Radio." With lush orchestra and lyrics speaking of an unrequited love, Digby touches on all of us who've ever had a crush on someone obviously unattainable. Again, Digby doesn't realize how beautiful she is because if she did, she wouldn't worry herself so much with some rock star. I like the song, especially the longer it gets into it. And as much as it's a good ballad, it comes nowhere near touching the next song, "Spell." This piano ballad is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in a long time (up there with A Fine Frenzy's Almost Lover). This song could either be directed to a love interest or simply to the audience she's singing to. She speaks again about how "all her life she stumbles" but that she's perfect for those watching her onstage. No matter who it's directed at, Digby's beautiful voice, haunting piano melody and tearjerking orchestra keep my undivided attention and I know this song is as true as they come.


Track ten, "Beauty in Walking Away," again showcases Digby's wise-beyond-her-years lyrics about knowing the right time to walk away from anything and/or anyone. It takes a maturity and selflessness that is extremely difficult for one to face and to decide on. She captures that splendidly in her songbird voice with more sweeping orchestra. A good song and perfect lead-in to the album title, "Unfold." This song is about as insightful as they come - with all the fears of a girl becoming a woman and a musician exposing her life and emotions for others to hear and read. This is the stuff that appears on most sophomore albums (along with "Better Off Alone," "Voice on the Radio," and "Spell"), but Digby has the awareness and bravery to put it out now. Talking about her struggles with her shyness, awkwardness and an understanding need for privacy, she also makes a pledge to unabashedly putting herself out there in the world. As the song comes to a close, Digby repeats "I will allow someone to love me" and it's this testament that sounds like the singer is having to convince herself even more than making a declaration to others. The closing song is Digby's famous cover of Rihanna's Umbrella (as seen on YouTube and MTV's The Hills). It was wise to put this song last as if it had been the lead or even in the middle of the album, most people probably would've stopped there (since this is the single most will buy this album for) and not given the album the chance it so much deserves. I like the original and I love this cover just as much. A good song and a good closer to an impressive debut.


With so much insight and wisdom beyond her years, I can't wait to see what Marie Digby puts out next. Unfold is the album I wish all girls and young women would take to heart nowadays. This is the kind of girl I would've fallen head over heels in love with back when I was in high school. She does all her own songwriting and plays guitar (acoustic and electric), piano, and the synthesizer. A versatile talent who's surely on her way up to doing great things in music! Write on, Miss Digby! Write on!

I really like Marie Digby. She has a fun upbeat style that sticks in your head. However, she isn't very original. She sounds a lot like today's popular artists, like Colbie Caillet or Sarah Bareilles, which is probably why I like her. The CD is kind of short, so it gets over faster than you'd expect, but it is charming and I do recommend it if you like this style of music.

Marie Digby is another in the latest music trend - a budding superstar created by cyberspace, joining a growing list that includes Colbie Caillat, Kate Voegele, and others. But like many of the others, and to her credit, she's not likely to be a multimedia-created flash-in-the pan, but a talented singer-songwriter who may have a long and successful career ahead of her.

With songs like "Say It Again," "Stupid For You," and her hit cover of Rhianna's "Umbrella," show creativity, songwriting talent, and a knack for making at least one huge cover hit. Only time will tell if Ms. Digby will have longevity, but "Unfold" is an excellent start.

Here's another one to add to the list...

Marie Digby. Singer/songwriter.

Is it just me or has 2008 already given us a ridiculous amount of good female singer/songwriters? I mean, gees, I could easily name off six or so off the top of my head. What's great is that each has their own distinct brand of music to offer. Enter Marie Digby, internet sensation (redux).

Much like a possible counterpart in Kate Voegel, Marie found success from the internet first. Also, much like Voegel, Digby's debut is full of nice, easily listenable songs that are sure to find dtheir way lodged into your head. Digby doesn't shy away from a good ballad though, and on most accounts, she scores with flying colors. Her voice is strong enough to 'soar' when it needs to yet she never overdoes it...another plus.

One thing I wish would've been different with Unfold, however, is that she got popular with her off-the-wall covers (Rihanna's hit Umbrella specifically), it would've been nice to have one or two extras. For instance! She recently redid Linkin Park's hit What I've Done. It was great. If only that would've been included. That complaint aside, Unfold is a great listen.

The opener, Fool, does the CD justice. There are a few tracks that rock pretty good like that, but I'd say, more times than not this CD falls into the slower category. And there's nothing wrong with that! Marie has a great voice and can pull those songs off easily, as evidenced by songs like Miss Invisible, Voice on the Radio, and Beauty in Walking Away. Tracks like Fool, Stupid For You, and Girlfriend keep the pace moving swiftly though.

My favorite songs are Fool, Better Off Alone, Miss Invisible, Girlfriend, and Umbrella. I think Unfold is a tremendous debut record, but Marie can grow with future releases, you can see that. Hence the 4.5 star rating. Its easy to say that Marie Digby has the ability to make great songs. Saying she has staying power is something we'll see soon enough, I'm betting she'll be around for a while though.

I've been anticipating this album since I first laid eyes on her on youtube.
A co-worker told me about her and so I checked her videos out, and they were awesome. Her voice is sweet and her guitar playing is fantastic. Not to mention, she's quite pretty. I like her cover songs and her original songs. This album, since I first got it, I've listened to multiple times in just 2 days. It's a very mellow pop/rock album which I think is a great start for her. I hope she finds much success with this album, and she makes more great music. If you are a fan of artists like John Mayer and Michelle Branch, I recommend Marié Digby.

I have to say that I have been a long time Amazon customer and I almost Never! take the time to do a review of anything!

That said, this is a fantastic artist and I hope has a long career. Great CD, Great Music.... I even pre-ordered this.

We'll be looking out for the tour on the East Coast!

I just found this and what a great surprise! I love the melodies and Marie's voice is great. She puts a lot of feelings into her music and is obviously super talented. Overall, I just like that this is a thoughtful album with some really well written songs. This version of umbrella is the best! I don't even like the original.

I really liked a few of the songs. Not all of them, but a few were really good. I'll be watching this artist.

Good, solid album. A bit boy crazy & whiney but still good, certainly well crafted. The melodies are phenominal. The real highlight is her version of Rhianna's Umbrella - better than the original by far!!