Search - Kirsty Maccoll :: Tropical Brainstorm

Like Kirsty -- It Glitters, It Shines

Eric Love | Broomfield, CO USA | 04/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard of Kirsty MacColl back in 1989 or '90, singing "Fairytale of New York" with The Pogues, the most clever, heartbreaking, and lovely Christmas song. It is like Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," hung up with tinsel and mistletoe. Kirsty's talents come out in full form with "Electric Landlady" from 1991. "All I Ever Wanted," "He Never Mentioned Love," "We'll Never Pass This Way Again," and "Halloween," are so wonderful because they aren't overwrought, and as a songwriter, she refuses to romanticize love all out of proportion, turning it into something niave, artificially sweet, and marketable but ultimately silly and unfamiliar. Kirsty proved that something intelligent could happen while translating relationships into songs -- that the pain and frustration they create could be transformed into something lovely, in part because these things are so familiar to people who have been in love. (Kirsty and Lloyd Cole are the only ones who seemed to get it.)The Latin-Cuban influence heard on "My Affair" courses through "Tropical Brainstorm" from start to finish and the results are simply brilliant. Beneath the marvelous beats and rythms of islands is classic Kirsty. Love still goes wrong in "England 2 Colombia 0," "Autumngirlsoup," and "Wrong Again," but more often than not it is smart and sardonic, as in "Designer Life," "Celestine," and "Us Amazonians." My favorites -- "In These Shoes," "Treachery," and "Here Comes That Man Again" -- place Kirsty on top, well in control . . . sort of . . . in three different situations with men, and involve her protagonists and: (1) the problems they have with very stylish but inconvenient footwear; (2) "infidelity" in the record store leading to stalking and voyeurism, and (3)cybersex and voyeurism. "Tropical Brainstorm" is now being released in the U.S. just over a year following it's appearance in Britain, and not quite half a year since Kirsty's death. The album gets better with every listen and, of course, leaves her heartbroken fans wondering what would have come next (probably not the "thrash album" she promised after her very last appearance on "Later With Jools Holland", but who, I ask, would have complained?). All of Kirsty's albums deserve to be heard over and over again, and for the newcomer "Tropical Brainstorm" is a fantastic beginning. For the rest of us, who loved Kirsty and miss her terribly, this recording confirms what we already knew: she was a singular talent, ruthlessly honest about love's joys and sinister leg-traps, gorgeous, vulnerable, luminous, and simply beautiful."

A jubilant, memorable coda to a great artist's career

David Kaminsky | Edmonton, Alberta Canada | 03/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two years after my first listen, I'm still amazed by the range and depth of this CD. From the tropical exuberance of the Cuban-influenced "Mambo de la Luna," the Brasilian-tinged "Celestine," and the tango-esque "Treachery," to the humour of "England 2 Colombia 0" and "In These Shoes," the spare, understated emotion of "Head" and "Golden Heart," and the touching directness of "Things Happen," this work confounds the boundries between musical genres (jazz, pop, salsa, samba, etc), stylistic influences and inspirations. Above all, the work is richly infused with Kirsty's love for Latin/Brasilian music, culture, and perspective. The standouts include the haunting "Autumngirlsoup," the hilariously camp "In These Shoes," and the amazing subtlety and warmth--and the delicacy with which adolescent obsession is handled--in "Things Happen." The album is a fitting tribute to the life and talent of one of the most sensitive, intelligent, and interesting singer-songwriters of our time. In a musical landscape dominated with hype and image, its singers often devoid of any true talent, the voice of Kirsty MacColl is needed more now than ever. We miss you so much, Kirsty."

A Grabber from the Get-Go

Lee Chambers | Massachusetts | 03/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know if you've ever had an album absolutely infiltrate you the moment you heard it, but that's what "Tropical Brainstorm" did to me. I took it out of the library on a whim because I had read a few passing things about Ms. MacColl and knew she was a critic's darling, etc., so I took it home. I'm usually resistant to unfamiliar music, but this CD immediately filled me up, it hit all the right spots, it was about the most enchanting thing I've ever heard. I rushed out to buy it a few weeks ago, and it hasn't left my CD player yet. The lush and punchy Cuban beats elevate tunes like "Mambo de la Luna" and "Treachery" to a euphoric high. Some are just so thrillingly beautiful, like "Us Amazonians" (a woman's anthem) that you experience joy just listening to the song unfold. After I got past the wonderful musical arrangements and started paying more attention to the lyrics, the album truly earned its 5 star rating. "Autumngirlsoup," for example, parallels being carved up by an ill-fated affair with being the contents of a pot of soup in one of the CD's most poignant moments. Kirsty MacColl was obviously one gutsy, funny and gifted lady whose deliciously cynical wit and unflinching vulnerability produced some great moments on this CD. It is with such bittersweet feelings that I submit this review, grateful as I am for the joy of discovering this artist and this music, I am equally saddened by the fact that her light has left this world."