The modest, sincere but notable singer Natasha Bedingfield last pleased us with a new album two years ago releasing the record Pocketful Of Sunshine in the USA. It contained only seven new tracks the rest having moved from her European release N.B. It is therefore not a secret that the British star’s fans long anticipating her new material were happy to know early last year that Bedingfield was preparing new material. Natasha likes being inspired in her parent’s place of birth which is New Zealand; that probably explains why most of her songs are so light and close to millions of women worldwide. Her third album Strip Me is not an exception in this case though it is different from Bedingfield’s other works. As always Strip Me is mainly devoted to relationship between men and woman and between a person and the surrounding world but it is the most eclectic album in the artist’s discography offering several potential hits at once.
Besides Natasha Bedingfield’s more and more soulful vocals production lies in the base of sounding on Strip Me, the producers being Ryan Tedder, who has already worked with the singer before, John Hill, Salaam Remi and others, and Wyclef Jean and Sia Furler enlisted among the co-authors. The record opens with one of the most vulnerable tracks Little Too Much which makes it clear from the very beginning that the singer has turned in the direction of a more dynamic accompaniment, which never allows the lyrics to be too schmaltzy, and Natasha is becoming more powerful and inspired with each new track. Thus the duo with Kevin Rudolf All I Need conquers with its energy and a dance beat, and the title track is built on a volume bass line the singer exploring the issue of the right approach to life which concerns each of her listeners. One of the most memorable songs is the vigorous Neon Lights which will make you rock your head with the music, and the atmosphere continues on the promo single Weightless, in which keyboards set the rhythm. A very beautiful melody of Can't Fall Down suits perfectly the philosophic lyrics, another attempt to understand the life ruling principles, and the ballad Try serves to make sure that as a vocalist Natasha keeps evolving. The singer’s interest to R&B is evident on a very contagious number Run-Run-Run, whereas Break Thru is built on electronic effects and reminds of Robbie Williams’ experiments with this direction. Another ballad Recover once again demonstrates the singer’s vulnerable side, and the album closer is Weightless (Less Is More Version), with soulful verses and an expressive chorus.
The thirteen tracks of Strip Me have been selected out of almost fifty sketches. Natasha wrote many of these songs during her tour, inspired by her fans’ love for her, which is why there are so little painful emotions on the new compositions such as those that filled practically a half of tracks on her first two creations. Besides one should take into account the fact that Natasha has celebrated the first year anniversary of her marriage with a man whom she considers the love of her life, and she is really happy in this relationship but keeps on thinking about life. The artist has had a goal working on Strip Me to create a collection of compositions that would make people sing along and thus sound especially effective at concerts. No doubt Natasha has achieved it: the vivid arrangements with tangible beats, layered vocal parts, echo effects, verse and chorus contrasts – these are the hit’s essential components. Though there are some unpretentious moments on the album the stronger tracks fully make up for those drawbacks, so Natasha Bedingfiled definitely has got all the grounds to be proud of her new creation.
Pocketful Of Sunshine
Unwritten
Antidotes 2008
Debut album of British band Foals looks rather original among many indie releases of this year. Their record Antidote is really hard to categorize, it has post-punk influences, traces of electronica, lots of anxious guitars and typical indie vocals
