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19 May 2012

Rated Fall To Grace: First Listen

I've been girding my loins for the new Paloma Faith album for weeks and in 10 days it will drop into my lap and I'll be floating along to it for hours on end. This morning I discovered the album sampler is available online and so, naturally, I got listening and putting pen to paper. On first impressions this is a strong collection of songs, with Paloma's voice on top form and the production never threatens to drown her out. I notice a lack of the potent retro feel of her debut Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? with its vintage inspired songs 'Upside Down', 'Smoke & Mirrors' and 'Broken Doll'. However, that said, this slight change/evolution in her sound is a clear sign of artistic progression. I guess we'll have to wait and see for sure when the album-full is released on 28 May.

Picking Up The Pieces
A lovely 'oomph' filled orchestral ballad about a crumbling relationship. See my review here.

30 Minute Love Affair
"30 minute love affair/All in the blink of an eye/There you were standing there..."she sings over an uplifting array of pleasant 80s synths. This is a bouncy poppy number that sounds unlike anything she's recorded before.


Black & Blue
One of the stronger ballads on the album, with stunning vocals on the massive chorus that wouldn't have seemed out of place on her debut album.


Just Be
A stripped back ballad, with some unusually restrained vocals from Paloma laced over the top of a gorgeous piano.


Let Me Down Easy
A fantastic sounding mid-down tempo song with a throbbing synth beat and a haunting metallic riff. This is electronic soul at its best.


Blood, Sweat & Tears
This sounds a bit like it was written by Sam Sparro and The Scissor Sisters. A electronic-disco infused pop song, this is a grower.


Beauty of the End
This sounds a bit like a bonus track from her first album. Lovely 'oooohh aaaahh' backing the chorus and Paloma's soulful voice.


When You're Gone
The first thing I thought of when I heard this was James Blake's album. It's no where near as wonderfully weird as that, but it has a faint throb in the background that sounds like he might have had a hand in its production.


Agony
A stronger uptempo track to 'Blood, Sweat & Tears'. "This is agony but it's still a thrill for me..." she belts out on a less bouncy, more orchestral pop song.


Let Your Love Walk In
Again, another ballad with lovely vocals. By this point I'd gotten a bit confused by which ballad was what. This is probably just because I've only had access to 1 minute clips of each, making it harder to absorb each one. Sounds good, potentially not as strong as the others though.


Freedom
One of my favourites. Starting off in lounge ballad form over a piano this song unexpectedly bursts into an exhilarating mid tempo chorus with light synths and an infectious beat.


Streets of Glory
The album closes with a ballad, showcasing just why this singer deserves some more recognition for her talent. It's a ghostly song with a sumptuous strings section and a thumping beat.

On first listen Fall To Grace sounds like it's brimming with artistic promise. There are some truly beautiful musical moments here in the form of 'Picking Up the Pieces', 'Just Be' and the epic 'Freedom'. I have some concern that the ballads might be a little samey, but I will reserve this criticism for when I've heard the full album in all its glory. Right now, I'm pretty confident this is going to be a joyride.

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