Regular Columnists

Artist: Arctic
Album: self-titled
CD Review: Arctic's album begins with the uptempo, engaging "Blue Eyes" in which lead singer Kate wraps around the lyric "A perfect smile, such a perfect child, such a love." It is a simple and enjoyable foray into pop music, and the disc follows through similar territory. Kate has a voice that is so easy to listen to, soft and effervescent like The Coors and dark and brooding like Garbage, depending on the song. Throughout the disc I hear a sound similar to The Coors, where some catchy lyrics are beefed up with some nice, tight rhythms and crunchy guitars.

One great thing about this disc is that you really understand what Arctic is trying to do. There's no mystery here, this a bunch of catchy pop songs with some lyrical depth to them. They sound like a complete thought and that's nice to hear. It's nice when someone has a vision and it is presented in such a warm and pleasant context that you can enjoy it with them. One suggestion I would make is to mix up the tempos a bit, I was waiting for a killer ballad and Arctic never slowed down. Have to hand it to them, I'm sure they would throw a great live party. Congratulations on a real pleasing album.

Contact:
deluc@access.net.au
http://www.arcticband.com