solace

mandalay

v2, 2001

Mood—Sad, chilly, and gorgeous.

Sample: "Insensible"

Thoughts— I purchased this CD in New York, on what was once the glorious St. Marks. Home to a handful of used record shops, something that I was sorely disappointed to see go away upon my return to NYC years ago. I will always remember how much fun it was to take a night going through racks of CDs looking for hidden gems or cool cover art to take a chance on.

I may have heard a popular remix of "Beautiful" on the radio before picking this up... I definitely remember specifically seeking it out and being elated to find it despite the sticker on the front proclaiming that Mandalay was "Madonna's Favorite New Band". Oh, star power... will you be used for everything?

Yes, yes you will. But as I said, despite this sticker, I wanted this album badly.

I was a bit surprised by the tone of the album... as is often the case, the remix had nothing to do with the actual song, a slow, delicate affair. As a whole, Solace lives up to its title. Nicola Hitchcock's vocals are full of a frightened vibrato and fragile need... she has the sort of voice that makes you want to wrap her in a blanket and take care of her.

Solace is, for me, a fall/winter album. It has the sparse and cold nature that I relate to the end of the year, barren trees, and sharp, cold breezes. It is overtly sad sounding, even if the lyrics are not.

This album also has one of my all-time favorite tracks, which you can play above. "Insensible" is just a perfect, perfect track. It sends chills down my spine. Haunting, moody, sad and aggressive. So so good.

Other favorites on the album are "It's Enough Now", the single "Beautiful", and "Enough Love". If I was to call one track out for being a little incongruous with the rest, it would be "Kissing The Day", which may be just a bit too bouncy when compared to the others. Shedding light on this may be the fact that Solace is actually a combination of trracks from Empathy and Instinct, two albums that were not released in the United States.

It's a shame they are no longer together... I'd love to hear more of this.

Recommended? Yes! You really should pick this one up.

Link—nicolahitchcock.com

Tracklist
1. Not Seventeen
2. Like Her
3. Beautiful
4. Deep Love
5. It's Enough Now
6. This Life
7. Flowers Bloom
8. Enough Love
9. Don't Invent Me
10. Insensible
11. Kissing The Day
12. Believe
13. I Don't Want The Night To End