Search - Julee Cruise :: Art of Being a Girl

Julee runs her own show this time

William Merrill | San Antonio, TX United States | 08/31/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"(3 & 1/2 stars) I'm glad to be able to bring some reality to the discussion of this new CD by Julee Cruise. She is an interesting person, with the David Lynch connection, her SNL appearance in place of Sinead O'Connor, B-52s stint, etc. She wrote just about all of the material on her new 3rd album herself, and this her first release without Mr. Lynch or composer Angelo Badalamenti. It does have several highlights, but it also has some weak points. The "good parts" include the extended closing track, "The Fire In Me," where Julee's silky vocals float cloud-like above a sea of synths and a nice Spanish guitar. "Everybody Knows" shimmers alluringly, "Slow Hot Wind" is a mysterious minor-key charmer with a cool electric guitar, and "Shine" and the title track are pretty good too. I also like the spoken word segments where Julee acts out a room service order and a phone call from mistress to lover. These are meshed in using clever musical segues.On the minus side, you've got the extremely repetitive "Cha Cha in the Dark," where she annoyingly just sings the same line over and over in a song that really goes nowhere. Some of the early cuts are sample-heavy and awkward, especially those with guest producers Mocean Worker and Khan. And - although it did not influence my rating - this CD has the worst album cover I've seen in awhile, a dark and blurry group photo."

Cruise's latest is really a work of 'Art'

brientravis | Nashville TN | 09/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ms.Cruise's latest outing may put die hard fans into shell shock when they hear the Mancini-esque samples and the hazy yet classy beats of Cruise's "Art Of Being A Girl"...the title track is the main course with a dash of tongue-in-cheek attitude about being a woman-child of the new millenium. It makes you want to dance with a Bond Girl or sip slight lazily on the world's greatest martini. Cruise works her charm with "You're Staring At Me", "Slow Hot Wind", "Falling In Love", and the entire remaing track list with chill-out lounge music that may not sound very much like her days with Twin Peaks alumni David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti...but like her previous albums "Art Of Being A Girl" takes slices of each decade of the past century and puts them in a blender with Cruise's angelic vocals and smart lyrics. You don't have to be an art freak or music tracker to get into this. Just get into the mood of taking an evening off of the drone-life of watching "Friends" and spend a refreshing and relaxing evening with Julee Cruise on her wonderful album."

The Art of Being A Girl is Beautiful

flintlock21 | Agura Hills, CA USA | 09/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tired of formulated songstress album's by Avril and Michelle whomever? Try Julee Cruise's new offering. This is the album you pipe through your headphones while strolling along the beach holding hands with your significant other on some afternoon. This is the album you play while you sit alone in your dwelling at eleven o'clock at night drinking a cup of hot tea. This is the album you listen to at 9:30 A.M. on a rainy Wednesday as you peer out the window. It has great moments of beauty contrasted with startalingly funny vignettes hidden at the end of certain tracks. Opener "You're Staring at Me" is a great number to start with featuring subtlty and tranquility. Album closer and hidden track "Falling", a classic Cruise cut, is a phenomenal mosiac which creates the perfect way to end such a stunning cd. Every track in between is an equally good peice making for one of my favorite releases of 2002. Pop this into your player when you've had just to much of your co-workers Sheryl Crow."