On to the next round: British singer Freya Ridings has released her third album, Mother of Pearls, nine years after her debut. Given the usual pace of the music industry, this isn’t a particularly high output, so one might expect something special.
Freya Ridings has been celebrated above all in her home country, the UK, since her first single Blackout, but has also bagged two gold discs in Germany and a platinum disc in Austria. Her music is catchy and pleasing without ever seeming banal. On Mother of Pearl, she oscillates between a varied blend of songwriting and light pop.
What stands out once again is the range of modulation in Ridings’ voice. Dramatic highs, warm mids, sombre lows, plus fragile moments alongside passages delivered with conviction – all of this carries the content of her lyrics acoustically into the right regions of the ear and the emotions. This is complemented by the assertiveness of many tracks. Their themes deal with anger, rebellion and women taking control of their own lives and narratives.
The opening track Euphoria, for example, immediately captivates with its underlying drum rhythms and hymnal character. R U O K – sung, of course, as ‘Are you ok?’ – flows, accompanied by violins, with a sense of foreboding towards a hymnal, swelling conclusion. The up-tempo number Battleship bursts restlessly and aggressively from the speakers.
Wicker Woman captivates the listener with dramatic tonal shifts. The title track Mother of Pearls sings of intimacy in a ballad-like manner, with a dialogue between piano and vocals. The album concludes with Strength In Me, evocatively calm and earnest, with choir-like backing vocals repeating “you don’t know the strength in me, you don’t know the things I’ve seen”, as if to make it undeniably clear that strength is always possible.
The album Mother of Pearls is recorded with an airy, clear sound. Reverb provides the space for captivating sonic textures, within which Riding’s voice sits centrally and warmly, acting as an anchor amidst the variably arranged instruments. These are very well differentiated even in the denser passages and, beyond the lyrics, invite the listener to listen and pay close attention.
The only regret is that the tracks, like the album itself, are rather short. Of the eleven songs, only four are just over four minutes long. The first track, Euphoria – a touch of irony – is actually the shortest track on the album and is over after just 2 minutes and 51 seconds. This is a shame, because the music is good: no sooner have you settled in and got into the groove than it’s all over.
Shouldn’t singers and songwriters have more to say? (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)
Freya Ridings