Album Review: Alison Moyet - the minutes

Alison Moyet
the minutes
Rating: Grrrr

I am always dubious when a longtime artist returns with an album that borrows liberally from current trends in electronic music, as if it is last stab at relevance and market share. Of course, it is easy to forget that Alison Moyet began her career as half of the electronic duo Yaz, and has always dabbled with electronic music on her solo albums. the minutes, her first record since 2007's The Turn, is her first electronic-centric release since her Yaz days, and remarkably neither sounds like a cash grab nor some blind stab at what is current. Collaborating with Guy Sigsworth, formerly of Frou Frou and producer for Bjork, Madonna, and Britney Spears, Alison Moyet finds herself with one of her best, if not the best, records of her career; her voice still powerful and rich, with Sigsworth's productions aiding her delivery rather than just being something bright and shiny in the background.

You know things are different off the bat with the strings and muffled electronics of "Horizon Flame," Moyet's voice supple and deep, weaving in and out of the dense mix of keyboards.



Throughout the record there are nods to dubstep, from the push and pull of juggernaut "Changeling,"



the stuttering, squeltchy electronic landscape of "Apple Kisses,"



and the fierce, album highlight "All Signs of Life" that runs the gamut through dubstep and drum and bass.

Thankfully, Sigsworth and Moyet aren't slaves to one genre of music, making the minutes a stylistically varied experience, one that reveals its depths over time. There are epic tracks like the barnstorming "When I Was Your Girl" which features one of Moyet's most emotionally honest vocals,



"Love Reign Supreme" which travels in the same spritely electro-pop territory as The Postal Service,



and the stately electro-ballad "Filigree," Moyet's voice as regal as it has ever been.



the minutes was a huge surprise for me, as most of Moyet's solo records have been nice yet never really doing much other than providing bland musical backing for her powerful voice. Sigsworth seems to understand that power and works with it instead of not trying to come up against it. Providing more meat to the backing tracks actually makes her voice even more powerful. Welcome back Alison, we hope you and Sigsworth continue this fruitful partnership.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.