Search - Robin Frederick :: Blue Flame

Poetic lyrics, infectious grooves

A. Cohn | Bay Area, CA United States | 01/14/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Robin Frederick is not well-known, so an introduction by comparison is in order. Frederick's voice is a breathy mezzo-soprano, much like Norah Jones, but without the pretentious affects. If you like her voice, or Ivy's and Dido's, you'll like Frederick's. Stylistically, Frederick is a close cousin to Dido, in that both artists have very dense lyrics -- a high word-to-content ratio that present complex ideas. If your attention wanders during a song, you'll miss a lot of meaning. Whereas Dido's lyrics are mainly narrative, intent on telling a story, Frederick's are mostly poetic, intent on conveying metaphors that lead to multiple interpretations.



Her lyrics are the strongest aspect of her music, and she willingly shares them for inspection and explanation on her web site. Good thing, too, as I've never been good at unraveling the possible meanings of poetry. Some lyrics, such as those in "Sleeping in Byron's Bed" would have been inscrutable if not for Frederick's background explanation. Not all her lyrics are impenetrable, however. Examples: "Written in Sand" is obviously a lament for someone who committed suicide, "Night Blooming Thing" is clearly a song written about a vampire lover, and "Feel Your Way" is fanciful encouragement to "just do it." Despite the difficulty I had in interpreting some lyrics, it was quite refreshing to listen to lyrics that expressed complex, interesting ideas.



Frederick's music isn't based on catchy hooks; they'd never make the pop top 40. The music is more like a textured, sonic wallpaper on which to hang the lyrical pictures. Frederick herself describes the music of "Blue Flame" as a combination of chill grooves, and house and trance beats. The sound is very synthetic, and I suspect many of the harmonies are her own voice, overlaid in multiple tracks. I'd love to hear alternate versions of many of her songs with real instruments, especially percussion, as I find drum kits to be exceptionally flat and boring. The euro-pop feel works best on the tracks on "Feel Your Way," "Sleeping in Byron's Bed," and surprisingly, the traditional Celtic ballad, "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair."



And while Frederick's music may not be particularly catchy, I found the combination of her music and lyrics downright addictive. The grooves of the spacious and repetitive music, which encourages your mind to wander and relax, are a good platform for the more demanding lyrics. I've listened to this music daily since I received it a week ago, and "Feel Your Way" is in one of my morning wake-up mixes. I plan to introduce my more musically adventurous friends to Robin Frederick soon, and you should at least preview her music at her web site."