A new addition to the ever-bulging eccentric female singer-songwriter lane, New Zealand-born/ Australia-based Kimbra makes quite the first impression on debut single “Settle Down”, a desperation-soaked plea for her fantasy beau to ditch his girl with the fancy car and go steady with her so they can raise a child together named “Nebraska Jones” (“She’ll have your nose…”).
Sound a lil’ kooky? Yes, but her marrying this teenybopper daydream to jazzy-curlicued, stop-start phrasings and a whimsical arrangement that starts with nothing but “boom-buh-boom-bah” mouth-noise and handclaps before being filled out with layers of sub-Timbaland quirk-funk and cutesy tip-toe piano plinks just show that being a bit “out there” is the name of her game…a fanciful lil’ game we wouldn’t mind hearing a little more of.
Twenty-something New Zealand singer-songwriter Gin may have a singing voice that presents her as some mad scientist-created DNA mash-up of Duffy and Macy Gray, but don’t think of that hard-to-ignore quirk as an unfortunate trait. On the aching ballad “These Roses”, it’s that odd croak that adds the perfect dose of raw fragility in a haunting tale of distant obsession.
As a beautiful supply of piano and French horns leisurely rise with dramatic tension behind her, she fantasizes about frolicking with her dream lover in the garden and how she wouldn’t hesitate to allow his lips to touch hers, promises to serenade him with “a sweet song” and even claims “I will be your everything and I’ll try to give you anything back”. Yet, with all that, she refrains from ever truly solidifying their union, only repeating “I cannot give you my love”, her chirp growing more and more heart-wrenched with each echo.
An arresting number that entrancingly captures what it’s like to love someone you can’t really have, “These Roses” will have you itching to check out what other bare emotions this interestingly-voiced newcomer has to share.
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A new addition to the ever-bulging eccentric female singer-songwriter lane, New Zealand-born/ Australia-based Kimbra makes quite the first impression on debut single “Settle Down”, a desperation-soaked plea for her fantasy beau to ditch his girl with the fancy car and go steady with her so they can raise a child together named “Nebraska Jones” (“She’ll have your nose…”).
Twenty-something New Zealand singer-songwriter
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