Album Review: Indiana – No Romeo

 

INDIANA’s angelic voice reverberates amongst stark but soft electronic percussion and a gentle rumbling bass for the opening track on debut album No Romeo. Never Born has a strong, sultry sound when the deep vocals and dramatic lyrics enter; “You ripped the heart of me, heart of me open / I’ll rain a thousand curses on your soul / All your sons and your daughters will be broken / For now and ever more”. It’s very dark and sinister. Indiana has a knack for slightly strange transitions and I think Indiana’s slow, almost sleepy dance aesthetic is a bit odd. Although when she sings the lyrics “I will rise up”, they do exactly that and rise above the now present rock ensemble, and that’s when Indiana starts to kick ass. The album then slows down with popular single Solo Dancing. Most of her songs open in this way, with a rhythmic start and gentle vocals that dance amongst the relative silence, then the lyrics aptly kick in “I go dancing by myself / I go dancing with no one else / Solo dancing watch me as I go”. The anticipation ebbs and flows in the track, before it gives way to an expansive synth section as the words “broken” echo in the space. After this, there’s a bit of funky 80’s stuff injected into the mix which carries the song through, where the drones of electric strings gently ends it.

 

Play Dead is one of the more minimalistic tracks, and not too dissimilar from The XX, but the vocals remind me of Dido and Alanis Morissette too. There’s even a bit of Kate Bush there in the backing. I think it feels more emotionally charged and the vocal melodies feel more urgent. It’s a great track to place before Heart On Fire, another single from the album. Heart On Fire raises hopes and is uplifting, with lyrics “I really wanna make this happen” opening it, leading the way for a more obvious dance track of fast paced rhythms and pulse raising electronica. Blind As I Am brings it right down again, with an emotional vocal entrance teaming sadness with gentle sombre piano chords and electronic soundscaping which feels open and raw. A creative and dark reworking of nursery rhyme ‘Jack and Jill’ haunts before strangely going into New Heart. Both feel to be more album filler tracks, with New Heart more on the romantic side, but being a bit too candy floss for my taste. Bound brings back the trip-pop weirdness that I like about the album, with some interesting effects and an uncomfortable repetitive bass riff which adds to the anxiety of the song. “This isn’t love, it’s dangerous” is a really catchy lyric and I like how it gives way to that rock sound which you hear on the opening track.

 

Title track No Romeo ties in quite naturally with Solo Dancing, it feels like they could be an ironic match together. There are so many catchy little melodies in the song, which makes it one you want to sing along with. It’s the most inviting to participate I think due to it feeling a bit more on the pop side than the others. Calibrated Love follows with an interesting “blurred lines” lyric which makes you wonder where there is a reference to Robin Thicke. However, personally I’m not sure it’s the best choice as it just feels a bit disappointing after No Romeo. Shadow Flash opens with some gorgeous harmonies, and again some nice effects which make the track feel more personal, especially with the piano and even the snippets of birdsong and background vocal shouts here and there. Also the brass which works very well, and adds a lot of colour. Only The Lonely feels more upbeat too, and hits that dance sound that is so classic. It’s forward focused, and has a strong beat to jam to but also maintains those odd transitions which are Indiana’s signature. The final track of the album, Mess Around, is a dirty and punchy end to an interesting debut album which has a creative take on electronica, and explores dance in a way I haven’t experienced before. I do think Indiana shouldn’t shy away from giving it a bit more oomph in her tracks, and take those odd transitions to new levels. I get the synth-noir sound she’s going for, but the album wants to go further however it’s just not quite ready yet… I’m very much looking forward to seeing how this Nottingham artists develops in her career.

 

No Romeo is released on 19th January 2015, and is available for pre-order.

 

By Cassia Helme