UK composer and vocalist Doris BRENDEL have been around for just about 25 years at this point, starting with the major label signed band The Violet Hour who released their sole album back in in 1991. When that project collapsed Doris continued on with a somewhat more low key solo career, and she has so far released 8 full length albums as either a solo artist or in various collaborations. From 2011 and onwards composer and instrumentalist Lee Dunham has been her creative partner, and the twosome have two albums to their collective names so far. “Upsidedownworld” is the most recent of these, and this production is scheduled for official release in April 2015 through Sky Rocket Records.
Versatility and character are probably my chosen key words for this production. The versatility due to the multiple types of music explored, and the character mostly comes down to Doris’ voice. In a world filled with bland female pop singers on one hand and opera singer wannabes a plenty in rock and metal on the other, Brendel’s raspy, sensual voice is one that kind of blends the female jazz vocalist at a seedy night club with the 60 cigarettes and two bottles of whisky a day voice of some female blues vocalists: Containing elements from both without ever really being comparable to either.
As there’s so much diversity at hand here, describing this production without having a run through each and every song is rather difficult, so while I generally try to shy away from that approach this is one of those albums where I feel this is warranted.
The Devil Closed the Door on Me: Raunchy, primal hard rock with a distinct AC/DC sound to it, with a more laid back blues and jazz-tinged interlude in the midsection.
Adored: A hauntingly familiar sounding affair revolving around a dominant piano theme, echoing light toned guitars and a warm, organic jazz-tinged bass motif supporting Doris raspy vocals. A touch of Tori Amos here, perhaps? With a nifty, subtly folk-tinged interlude in the midsection that gains an edgier, jazz-tinged sound prior to the return of the song proper.
Slap Me and You Die: Edgy, compact and subtly punk-tinged guitar riffs central on this one, with brief blues-tinged guitar solo interludes for the intermissions. Reminds me of a stripped down version of Garbage.
Accessorise: More of an 80’s sounding synth rock or synth pop affair, with some faint traces of Blondie shimmering in the distance.
Tumbling Away: A song rather similar to the earlier Adored, but without the jazz-tinged bass motif and with more of an 80’s or 90’s pop piano ballad sound to it.
A Little Act of Defiance: Opens as an art-oriented affair with wandering piano motif and what sounds like cello textures in support, and then develops into a crunchier, guitar driven affair that, again, gives me associations to a stripped down version of US/UK band project Garbage.
Upside Down World: Acoustic guitars, harmonica and strong lead vocals in a sparse composition that comes with associations towards western folk music and Americana. Strong chorus.
Still Running: Wandering piano motif and liberal use of strings, on this song Doris wanders off into landscapes that should sound hauntingly familiar to fans of artists such as Kate Bush and Tori Amos.
Life Is a Mushroom: The concluding song, and a breathtaking and fun blend of funk, reggae and ska. The kind of song that ideally should be played at whatever discotheque you visit at around the time when people are trying to find someone to shag. Playful and raunchy.
As I stated earlier, character and diversity are key traits to this album, and the lead vocals of Doris is the core element that unite these rather different compositions into a whole. The songs are all well developed, all of them come across as vital in terms of energy and spirit, even if some are carried more by the vocals than others. The odd one off here, concluding piece Life Is a Mushroom, is for me the most impressive track though, despite the fact that this particular song is more of an instruments driven affair. Perhaps because there’s such a strong feeling of letting loose on this composition, a song that comes with a distinct association of being made just for the fun of it.
My rating: 82/100
