One Cell in the Sea

A Fine Frenzy

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 17, 2007)
• Original Release Date: July 17, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records
• ASIN: B000QCK99E
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #891 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #43 in	Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Singer-Songwriters
  #95 in	Music > Pop > Adult Alternative

Track Listings

1. Come On, Come Out

2. The Minnow & The Trout

3. Whisper

4. You Picked Me

5. Rangers

6. Almost Lover

7. Think of You

8. Ashes and Wine

9. Liar, Liar

10. Last of Days

11. Lifesize

12. Near To You

13. Hope for the Hopeless

14. Borrowed Time

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A Fine Frenzy is actually just a fine young singer-songwriter from Seattle, born Alison Sudol. A self-taught piano player, on her debut album she pairs sweeping orchestral arrangements with dreamlike lyrics inspired by the classic works of fantasy writers like CS Lewis, EB White, and Lewis Carroll. Add to that a propensity for frilly shirts and cryptic song titles such as "The Minnow & the Trout" and you half-expect to find a back alley Joanna Newsom. Instead Sudol specializes in accessible pop epics, the kind of songs that fit perfectly over the end credits of a great Hollywood tearjerker. Despite the gentle melancholia that runs through "Ashes and Wine" and "You Picked Me," each tune arrives wrapped in an exuberant melody and topped by the singer's commanding voice. On the disc's standout moment, "Almost Lover," she shows she can do simplicity as well, musing over a sublime piano medley, "Shoulda known you'd bring me heartache/ Oh, most lovers always do." --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

A Fine Frenzy Photos

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stoke of Amazon Luck, July 21, 2007

By	Joe Stubbs (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I can't remember what prompted me to order ths album. I had never heard of A Fine Frenzy or Alison Sudol, but something in the Amazon marketing machine suggested it to me-- whether it was recommended or a "deal" if I bought two, I don't know. I am sure a listened to the 30 sec. teasers, and gave it a shot.

I think Alison Sudol may have the loveliest voice I have heard since Sarah McLachlan and/or Eva Cassidy. That is a major concession from me. I am a lyrics lover to the core, and so far I am impressed. Maybe I am easy, but you will have to decide for yourself.

123 of 139 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Cell in the Sea: A sonorous journey, July 19, 2007

By	Matthew P. Burke "Matt B." (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lately we've been greeted with a king's court full of singer/songwriters. I don't review their music too often and when I do, I can only draft a few terse sentences. For my part, I find many of them to be musicians, not artists. Musicians merely recite their compositions and, after a few repeat plays, I'm left hollow, finding little of themselves, their vulnerability, in the work. The artists, however, paint, weave, and sculpt with music, and you know what dangerous creatures they can be, cleverly lacing the notes with their aspirations, their fears, their essence. You can sense it in their voice, every syllable of the lyrics as they slip into you.

Such is the case with A Fine Frenzy. When I heard their album, One Cell in the Sea, I was struck by its dimensionality. With her vocal and writing talents, singer/songwriter Alison Sudol folds our hand into hers and guides us through her mysterious wonderland, conjuring picturesque landscapes with "Come On, Come Out", the excellent "Rangers", "You Picked Me" and "The Minnow and the Trout" and ensnaring us in sumptuous wine-dark woodlands with her intimate offerings "Almost Lover", "Hope for the Hopeless", "Near to You" and "Ashes and Wine".

By the time the final track, "Borrowed Time", concluded, I found myself in a well of thoughts and emotions, albeit delightedly so. Sudol has not only crafted an outstanding and bravely personal album, but a magical world I look forward to visiting time and again.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets Its Hooks Into You, August 31, 2007

By	Russell Evansen "revansen" (Waunakee, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've always felt that the ability to write gorgeous songs with memorable hooks is a vastly underrated skill in the contemporary music world. It seems there is a premium placed on music that's bombastic, atonal, ironic, or in some way "inaccessible" to the masses. If most people can't hum it, that means it's authentic - at least that's the impression you get from reading most music criticism these days. Alison Sudol (aka A Fine Frenzy) has the gift of writing songs that hook you almost immediately with their soaring melodies, and her thoughtful lyrics belie her relatively young age. She may not yet be at the level of a Fiona Apple or Tori Amos when it comes to soul-baring confessionals, but for someone who's self-taught on the piano she is truly a remarkable talent. "One Cell in the Sea" is an impressive debut in many respects, and it's one of those records that gets under your skin the more you listen to it. You can clearly hear the influence of bands like Keane and Coldplay in spots, and at times her voice reminds me of Harriet Wheeler of the long-lost Sundays. If you're not one of those people who's allergic to beautiful, shimmering pop music (you know who you are, White Stripers) you should definitely check out A Fine Frenzy.