Customer Reviews

Wake

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have both of Sheila Nicholls' albums, the raw piano-and-girl Brief Strop and the world music-influenced Wake, and both of them call out to me over and over again. I can background them while I work, or I can tune in and get swept up in the melodies and the truth. I eagerly await more from this talented artist!

This album is amazing. I first heard "How Strong" and was immediately struck by what an amazing songwriter this person whom I had never heard of before was. I thought that track to be very good, but produced a little too "poppy" for my taste on the choruses, then I gave the rest of the album a listen. I was amazed. Her melodies seep into your head and don't let go, and I find myself putting this album on on a daily basis. In a time when so many women in music are flatly typcasting themselves into one genre or another, Sheila Nicholls refuses to be defined. The CD is beautiful and thought provocing, while also being fun at times, angry at times, and sometimes all of the above at once. If you like well written innovative music, buy this CD.

This one is on my list of all time favorites. I heard Love Song on an episode of Smallville and fell in love with it immediately. When I bought it and brought it home I was totally blown away by it. Sheila Nicholls has a power to her voice that soothes the listener, it's really a beautiful thing. This is one of the very few CDs I can play beginning to end and feel I walked away from the store with something special. It was so worth every penny I spent. Sheila Nicholls has helped to restore some of my faith in the music industry. I thank her, and hope she continues her success.

If you haven't bought it yet, you should. :)

Do yourself a favor - discover her now. This album is the kind of album you play once and say, "huh, I liked that." You play a couple more times, and you start to recognize some phrasing and lyrics and say, "wow, I really like this." Then, finally, after playing it scores of times and telling all your friends about it, you say, "why isn't she more famous?!"

Her voice is smooth and yet she can use it to be edgy without being grating. Her songwriting is true and honest and different, and her lyrical skills in particular are really worth paying attention to. By far one of the best of the new singer-songwriter class - I love her almost as much as I love Nellie McKay.

Yet another little known female artist that has a refreshing amount of creative control over her craft, Sheila Nicholls second album "Wake" has turned out to be a very enjoyable piece of music of surprising quality. Loads of social commentary for those capable of appreciating lyrics (especially gotta love the slam to the Spice Girls) are wrapped into some quirky music and backed by her strong vocals and solid production.

The two strongest tracks on the disc would have to be the opening song "How Strong" and the beautiful "Faith". Either one could have been a huge hit if given the airtime that they deserved. Other standout songs would have to include the somber "Bread and Water", the jazzed up "Ruby", "Won't Get Lost in You", and the softer "Love Song". Overall the album qualifies as a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end.

If you like music from a young lady with a lot on her mind and the nerve to say it, than you could very easily enjoy Sheila Nicholls. Don't be put off by the silly cover (on which a dreadlocked Sheila is flying a kite in the shape of a rooster), because inside is music from a true rarity among the industry today: an artist with integrity and a vision for how she wants to do things. Reccomended.

British-born Sheila Nicholls first burst onto the national music radar with the High Fidelity feature tune, "Fallen For You," has returned with her sophomore album, Wake. Her newest release strays from her debut, Brief Strop, by upping the production element ten-fold but maintains her freeform stream of social consciousness lyricism speaking against the evils of war and the quest for equality. With four producers, Jakko M. Jakszyk, Jez Colin (Morcheeba), Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette), and Nicholls herself, many would expect Wake to be a sonic mishmash of various styles, but Nicholls total creative control clause in her contract allows the disc to flow smoothly blending each of the producers' expertise and individual style with her alto and piano playing residing in the foreground of each track. Though the additional production makes Wake less intimate and spontaneous than her debut, it also adds a level of accessibility and maturity missing from Brief Strop. The first single, the Ballard produced self-affirming "Faith," starts off with a rather bright banjo opening line which slides down to the bottom of the mixing board as the tune progresses. The acid-jazz of Colin produced tracks ("Bread & Water," "Come To Me") would make Sade proud while Ballard produced "Breath" provides one of the discs standout numbers as the uber-producer ventures into familiar territory with an Arabic tinge and chorus turntable scratches. With Wake, Sheila Nicholls maintains her artistic integrity while creating an album in which many should be able to enjoy and find empowerment.

...Pink doves, Indian kites, and Wonder Woman Pez dispensers. You may think this is an odd combination of things-and it is--but these are the eclectic items being idolized on the CD cover of Sheila Nicholls' new CD, Wake.

Eclectic may indeed be one of the best ways to describe Nicholls' style in music, as well as her style in general. Her melodies range from exotic and devious in "Ruby," to soaring and mellow in her cover of "Love Song." But no matter what song or style, the Sheila always shines through. Her lyrics convey her personality-she is the modern-day hippie, sporting pink and blue dreads and filling her songs with antiwar messages. Her new music video, "Faith,'' may be one of the coolest things I've seen on MTV in a long time. I don't care if Shakira can shake herself for three minutes--goldfish swimming through wheat fields beats her any day.

Nicholls is using her place as a rising star to help the starving artists out there. Her self-founded record company, EssexGirl Records, is devoted to helping musicians carry out their visions as they see fit instead of being forced into change for the sake of ratings. The coolest part about this is that when you buy her CD, you're supporting her, her record company, and other emerging artists, and at the same time fighting record labels that change their artists to sell sex rather than music. It's a very worthy cause. Plus, the music rocks, too. It's a win-win situation...

I adore Sheila Nichols. Her CD Wake is by far the best CD I have heard in years. She could be the next Tori Amos except for the fact that she's in a league of her own. An original. Like Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Ani Difranco Shelia Nichols' and Corinna Fugate's lyrics are provocative, thoughtful, her melodies are like pieces of sky.

It was completely by chance that I stumbled across Sheila Nicholls, but ever since she has been at the absolute forefront of what I see as true musicianship. Her songs are an insight into emotion and both her albums: Wake and Brief Strop, have been an enrichment for me. She has managed to take over such greats as Alanis Morissette and No Doubt as my all-time favourite artist. Sheila is a true talent, and if I was to recommend any singer to anyone, it would be her. Buy this album!!

Every now and then an artist comes along with a style and sound that are completely their own, and a voice that demands to be heard. When listening to Sheila Nicholls and her newly released sophomore album, "Wake", you realize that there is something special about her and the music she is creating that commands your attention. The first single from "Wake" is "Faith", a beautiful, heartfelt song with an infectious hook that has her singing "the last thing that breaks is your faith". "Faith" offers a powerful message of hope and trust in that which may be difficult to understand. "Bread and Water" is another terrific song off the album, it allows you to glimpse into the heartache of someone who is both strong and delicate, with a fragility that allows you to feel the emotion of being without someone you truly miss. Other terrific songs include the moody "How Strong", the manic "Ruby" and the humorous "Seven Fat Englishmen" which includes the line "And as the Spice Girls prostitute girl power in the background". Sheila's ability to paint a picture with her lyrics and piano playing highlight her remarkable voice. Sheila is from Essex, England and has her own record label, Essexgirl Records, as well as being signed to Hollywood Records. Her song, "Fallen For You", was featured on the soundtrack to the movie "High Fidelity". Sheila Nicholls seems destined to become a name that is soon to be on everyone's mind, it is hard to listen to her and not be touched. "Wake" is a powerful, atmospheric album that ebbs and flows beautifully through different moods and feelings, leaving you emotionally spent.