Being as picky as I am in regards to female artists, I approached this CD like a cynic, rather than a self proclaimed “well rounded” music fan. Having heard the first single, the almost haunting, “They” on a local CUTTING EDGE ALTERNATIVE STATION!!1, I decided to check out the album. It was an all or none type of situation, the first time, in a long time, that I actually ran out and purchased an album without downloading 50% of it first to ensure that my money was well spent – this album, without knowing it, had a lot to prove.
So I marched out of my local Best Buy, head held high but with worry growing in the pit of my stomach - I just spent the money of an hour at work on a CD that could quite possibly suck ass. I allowed the anticipation to grow, and did not play the CD in my car, figuring if it did in fact turn out to be one of those novelty chick CDs, that at least I’d be safely indoors and not operating a piece of heavy machinery, read: my car. My overly dramatic fears were squelched upon initial listen.
From a production standpoint, Jem’s history as a DJ really shines. The sound is surprisingly clean for a debut album, like a seasoned veteran. Her understated voice, while reminiscent of say Dido, whose voice is reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan, is familiar, but carries the album well. There’s a raw edge to Jem’s sound that you don’t get with these mentioned artists, an edge that we had with Fiona Apple, but which has been absent with the latest batch of female artists clogging up our airwaves. (Norah Jones, for example) The vocals are pretty simplistic, but delivered cleverly over hip hop inspired beats, and reggae infused melodies - repetitive, yes, but not in an annoying way.
Though the second half of the CD lacks the upbeat tempos of the first half, it still gives the listener a menu of great tracks like one of my personal favorites, “Flying High”. The only song that was difficult to wrap my ears around was “Wish I”. It just sounded like a Carnival Cruise Line commercial soundtrack; I was waiting patiently for a cameo by Kathy Lee. However, after repeated listens, I have grown to love this song, but it’s really one of those corny tracks that you’d normally wince at on any other artist’s album. It’s ok though, 10 out of 11 tracks is a pretty good score. Surely this album isn’t for folks who want to beat up their fellow fan or smoke a zillion cigarettes wearing their favorite tight jean jacket, but it is a great album for the rest of us.
