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Nicki Jaine - Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities
Now THIS is a great surprise! It can't be 2000 mph death metal all the time! Time for a break. Singer/songwriter Nicki Jaine has your solution! Her latest effort "Of Pigeons And Other Curiosities" is a melting pot of some slower, more "soothing" if you will, material with a ROCK SOLID vocal mixed with some SERIOUS sass and attitude! "Sound Of Girls" opens things up and right away you can get a sense of the power in Nicki's voice. The first half of the track sounds like it came right off a 20's or 30's LP being played through a phonograph before cutting to a typical modern cleanliness after the 1st chorus. As calm and serene as the music is with just Nicki's vocal and the piano, there is a certain energy and command that Nicki's voice takes that is just undeniable. "Pretty Faces" almost sounds like a cabaret show tune only this one builds up the feel a bit with some acoustic guitar, bass, drums and a handful of backing vocals for a slow rockin, acoustic tune. It's done with a certain swagger and attitude that will easily attract your attention. That attitude continues and even intensifies on "Should Have Known"! The piano contained within this track is something that goes to a very dark place yet retains a certain "roaring 20's" attitude about it! VERY unique! You attention is so concentrated on "Should Have Known" that the acoustic, yet VERY emotional "Pigeon Named Crow" will probably have you jumping out of your seat with the extreme change between tracks. Add some strings to the mix and the emotions really run high on "Amsterdam". "Animals Crawling" adds a spooky whisper over the main vocal line for a real chilling effect! You'd swear that there's a bit of a Primus style influence on "Octopi" by the funky style of the verses. Things get a bit more complex on "Antarctica". It goes from Nicki's vocal line and a tolling bell to a slew of bells with a backing band. Just as the continent Antarctica is both simplistic in it's white land scape so are the verses of just a vocal line and bells. Antarctica is also complex in terms of the violent weather, much the same as the explosive choruses contained within the song. Ever wake up in the morning to a very grey kind of day only to have the sun poke in and out all day long? "Disaster, You're Beautiful" plays that kind of game. The opening and other areas of the song are very "grey" sounding while some of the breakdowns could be the musical interpretation of the sun shining through the clouds. The string/acoustic guitar darkness continues to flow heavily on "Untitled" before "One More Show" which ends, like the album began, with a snap, crackle and pop of an old LP. This isn't a metal release by any means but the power and darkness in Nicki's voice is astounding! There is a very "old time", "20's, 30's" kind of feel to many of the tracks but not the typical "20's, 30's" feel. THIS vibe is something that wouldn't have been DREAMED of during that period of happiness and "live it up" attitude. For all the latest, be sure to check out Nicki's official site at www.nickijaine.com
In Depth Zine
June 2004