Audio CD review:
Echobelly - On

Echobelly - On

Band: Echobelly Title: On Rating: Release Date: Media: Audio CD Tracks:

Customer Reviews a killer album--still. it would've been easy for naysayers to take one look at her and pass the band off as irrelevant. much of echobelly's success was directly attributable to the pixie-like and utterly gorgeous sonya aurora madan. besides, stunning vocalists aren't supposed to sing 'artistic' and 'credible' songs, right? so wrong. anyone wanting to dismiss madan as another pretty face do (and did) so at their own peril because sonya, for all the great looks, was easily one of the most dynamic, forceful personalities to emerge from the britpop era. most critics point to echobelly's first album, 'everybody's got one,' as their defining moment. it was raw, angry, melodic, and trapped volatile lyrical messages in three-minute pop songs. songs like 'i can't imagine the world without me,' 'father ruler king computer,' and 'give her a gun' showed that madan was a more than capable lyricist that would kick your ass if he pissed her off. the band's second album, 'on' lost a little bit of the former's bite (particularly in madan's decidedly feminist posturing), but it was still a huge album in many ways. glen johanssen is a superb musician and provided gritty, stained backdrops for madan's otherworldly vocals. it was a nice marriage that fuled the echobelly machine. the album's opener, 'car fiction' is quick fist smash into a concrete wall. glen's guitars, never bogged down in effects, are refreshingly straightforward. he turns on the overdrive and plays--just the way it should be. 'natural animal' see madan lament over a lost lover and is one of her stronger vocal performances. my personal favorite, 'pantyhoses and roses' tells the story of a couple bored with each other and features madan's own call-and-response, 'it could change / it will never / it could change / it will never. ' the albums penultimate track, 'dark therapy,' evokes a mood the song title suggests. it's moody, dark, and atmospheric and madan's vocals are absolutely seductive and chill-inducing--'if you close your eyes then i will you all the way / let me close your eyes and i will take it all the way. ' 'on' is a worthy follow up to its predecessor and one of the great britpop albums. every song is immediately identifiable and memorable. if you look hooks, 'on' has them in spades. you'll be singing these songs in your head for days. it's sad to see it's out of print, however. but if you can buy it used, you'd certainly do yourself a favor. This is one of the best albums of all time All the songs on this album are good and it is such a fresh summer time album that it will stand the test of time. I have owned this album since its release and I have never grown tired of it. If you like Alternative Music, pick this one up. One of the underrated bands of mid 90's Britpop 'On' combines the guitar swagger of Oasis and the brooding sound of The Smiths. Echobelly is perhaps one of the most underrated bands of the mid 90's Britpop wave. Debbie Smith on rhythm guitar adds these sweeping guitar-washes, giving their sound a subtle wall-of-sound effect. But the obvious centerpiece of Echobelly is the silky-sweet vocals of Sonya Madan, almost like a pixielike geisha, seductive yet packs a powerful punch. But I've always found that Echobelly strays beyond the boundaries of typical mid 90's indie-pop, an ecclectic chemistry adding an unconventional spin to their sound. Bittersweet. Crooning crystalline vocals with a slightly worldly bent, raw guitar brashness as a backdrop to an exotic seductress. This is still Britpop but with a unique twist, and just like Sonya Madan's voice. . . seductive but packs a powerful punch. . You can see a complete list of all Echobelly discography, or go back to the Echobelly tabs