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CD Review: Imbruglia Seeks New Direction in 'White Lilies Island'
By: Melissa Marchel - U-WIRE
February 16th 2002 12:37am
(U-WIRE) NORMAN, Okla. -- Australian soap-star turned pop-star Natalie Imbruglia is back after a four-year absence with a follow-up to her double-platinum debut Left of Middle. Her new record is notable for two aspects. First, it's a conscious break from her former Top 40 pop self to a more rock direction. Second, the CD itself was released earlier in Britain with technology that prevented the music from being ripped or burned into MP3 format. The new encoded technology inserts various errors in data, such as popping or small gaps, which a normal CD player would correct but a PC is unable to read. Problems occurred when some Brits couldn't get the record to play in certain CD or DVD players, prompting retailers to shell out refunds for unhappy customers. No word yet on whether the American release of the CD will have the same technology. Apparently, companies Philips and Sony, who jointly created compact disc technology in 197Courtesy of Matador Records 8, don't technically classify records with the anti-burning technology as compact discs. Philips, who incidentally also manufactures CD writers or burners, is trying to prevent record companies from using the trademark compact disc stamp on records with anti-burning technology. A quick search of an online MP3 service came up with most of the songs found on White Lilies Island. Apparently, BMG's (Imbruglia's record label) efforts of stopping MP3 trading of copyrighted material were once again thwarted. So with the hullabaloo surrounding White Lilies Island is it even worth downloading, er, buying in the first place? The record, with its emphasis on pop-rock ballads, quasi-personal lyrics and album liner aCourtesy of Epic Records Group rt, which is oddly reminiscent of Radiohead's OK Computer, seems like a conscious step by Imbruglia to get away from both her former "pop-star" self and current peers in that genre. The good thing is that most of the songs on White Lilies Island, are just as catchy as her single "Torn," but with less goody-goody pop inflections and more guitar-backed crunch. Imbruglia, along with various producers, wrote most of the album, so it does have a slightly more personal feel. Most of the lyrics linger in that gray area between introspection and vagueness. Songs like "Butterflies" and "Wrong Impression" are nice little romps into the pop-rock territory visited by others such as Travis and Coldplay. Imbruglia's voice does have an odd charm to it, half chirp, half wail. While it's an improvement, White Lilies Island is still nothing entirely original or special. Maybe her beginnings as an Australian soap opera actor, or the success of her song "Torn," which was played every five seconds in 1998 and still seeps onto the airwaves quite frequently today, taint one's opinion of her. In the end, White Lilies Island is a mature step in a new direction for Imbruglia. Rarely do follow-up albums to double-platinum sellers break from the formula that raked in the profits in the first place. Imbruglia wisely sidestepped that pitfall to make an affable if not entirely original sophomore record.
(C) 2002 Oklahoma Daily via U-WIRE
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