Natalia M. King - Milagro
Natalia M. King
Milagro
2000 Sunnyside/Universal Music France
Produced by Natalia King & Pierre Walfisz
Natalia M. King - vocals, acoustic guitar
Pierre Fruchard - electric guitar, bouzouf
Etienne Bonhomme - drums
A few years ago I found this album in the cutout bin for the tune of 3.95 (taxes not included). I found it worth the price, and maybe a bit more. And considering how much attention the female singer-songwriter has gotten in the past decade, I am surprised this artist didn't get more attention, as she has all the basic components for bigger success.
Natalia is apparently of Afro-Dominican extraction, living in France by way of Brooklyn. This is not really of any consequnce musically, but it never hurts to add some weightless trivia to help flesh out a profile. She is a striking figure of athletic build and flowing dreads and an unassuming manner in images and interviews. She also has a lot of talent based on this debut.
While not in and of itself very groundbreaking, Milagro is very well done, and a welcome departure from the typically overproduced tendencies of some (think Sarah Maclachlan or the last two Jonatha Brooke albums). The ground covered by the nine tracks here is not broad, but it is not entirely repetitive; this is closer to a recorded live date, with a strict trio format and a minimum of studio mutitracking. The result is a bluesy roots-rock center coated in folk and some light psychedelic trappings, and the quite powerful vocals of Ms. King, which never get used in an offensive manner the likes of which is common in the larynx-seizures of MTV mainstays Mariah and XTina.
Songs like Drag have a Ani DiFranco sensibility about them, and others veer closer into the grounded folk funk realm of the softer side of David Ryan Harris. Tracy Chapman this is not. The songs are more conversational than confessional, and the sparse arrangements give them an added vibe of a relaxed casual feel. The one surprise is the jam-band like closer; a fifteen minute opus called Beautiful. It is like the same song recorded in two different stages and conceptual bonded with a loose bridge into a drawn out narrative. It is its namesake.
You might like this if you like:
Ani DiFranco - Out of Range
David Ryan Harris - David Ryan Harris
Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets
Suzanne Vega - 9 Objects of Desire
Milagro
2000 Sunnyside/Universal Music France
Produced by Natalia King & Pierre Walfisz
Natalia M. King - vocals, acoustic guitar
Pierre Fruchard - electric guitar, bouzouf
Etienne Bonhomme - drums
A few years ago I found this album in the cutout bin for the tune of 3.95 (taxes not included). I found it worth the price, and maybe a bit more. And considering how much attention the female singer-songwriter has gotten in the past decade, I am surprised this artist didn't get more attention, as she has all the basic components for bigger success.
Natalia is apparently of Afro-Dominican extraction, living in France by way of Brooklyn. This is not really of any consequnce musically, but it never hurts to add some weightless trivia to help flesh out a profile. She is a striking figure of athletic build and flowing dreads and an unassuming manner in images and interviews. She also has a lot of talent based on this debut.
While not in and of itself very groundbreaking, Milagro is very well done, and a welcome departure from the typically overproduced tendencies of some (think Sarah Maclachlan or the last two Jonatha Brooke albums). The ground covered by the nine tracks here is not broad, but it is not entirely repetitive; this is closer to a recorded live date, with a strict trio format and a minimum of studio mutitracking. The result is a bluesy roots-rock center coated in folk and some light psychedelic trappings, and the quite powerful vocals of Ms. King, which never get used in an offensive manner the likes of which is common in the larynx-seizures of MTV mainstays Mariah and XTina.
Songs like Drag have a Ani DiFranco sensibility about them, and others veer closer into the grounded folk funk realm of the softer side of David Ryan Harris. Tracy Chapman this is not. The songs are more conversational than confessional, and the sparse arrangements give them an added vibe of a relaxed casual feel. The one surprise is the jam-band like closer; a fifteen minute opus called Beautiful. It is like the same song recorded in two different stages and conceptual bonded with a loose bridge into a drawn out narrative. It is its namesake.
You might like this if you like:
Ani DiFranco - Out of Range
David Ryan Harris - David Ryan Harris
Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets
Suzanne Vega - 9 Objects of Desire
posted by theloniusfunk at 7:45 PM
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