Juliette Commagere Review [Performer Mag]

Juliette Commagere - Queens Die Proudly

Juliette Commagere’s solo album “Queens Die Proudly” certainly stands out from the recent slew of sparse acoustic indie albums breathing fresh air into the music industry. From Commagere’s girl-next-door voice to the synthesizer-heavy instrumentals, the album drips pop and even ventures into Broadway musical territory. The chorus of “Hearts,” for example, adds an unexpectedly dramatic wash of reverb-soaked choral harmonies behind Commagere’s voice, which fades into an Enya-esque echo effect. Barely an authentic instrument can be heard as the singer’s “love of Tangerine Dream-esque arpeggiators and synthesizers” is fully indulged. Though Commagere fancies “these songs as simple statements that try to evoke a certain melancholy and feeling of isolation that no matter what never seems to go away,” the result is disappointingly emotionless, even plastic.

The lyrics, spoken so crisply by the singer, come across like a young adult’s melodramatic, sometimes nonsensical, attempt at poetry. The last track, for instance, strives to tell the painful tale of a young woman leaving a destructive relationship behind. But Commagere fails to reach deeply into the emotion of the song, lolling redundantly on the surface:

I, I need to get away

I hold you back, I bring you down

There’s only tears when I’m around

I, I need to run away

I don’t know where I’ll go or how

But a different person I’ll become…

Paired with the coldness of an all electronic backdrop, the poor lyrics are glaringly obvious. Void of tangible warmth or softness, the song does little to touch or draw in the listener. In her press release, the singer puts up an angsty front: “I don’t want to say this record was inspired by a deep depression, but fuck that—like every other asshole out there—it was.” Unfortunately, the “deep” depression she describes translates musically into more of a forced attempt at Evanescence-esque Gothicism than the bearing of an artist’s soul.

Commagere’s bell-like voice provides a comforting remedy to the synthetic atmosphere, and her vocal prowess is exemplified in the layers of impressive harmonies woven into a number of tracks. “Skyscraper” is one of the most interesting of the group, beginning with a choir of layered Commageres, languidly intertwining in effortless harmony before moving rather jarringly into verse.

But the album as a whole is a far cry from being “a little bit Kate Bush, a little bit Bjork with some Chet Baker,” as Commagere wrongly aggrandizes her project. Over-produced and under-felt, the music craves soul and honest emotion. Perhaps Commagere should ditch the synthesizers next time and dig a bit deeper.

(Aeronaut Records) http://www.myspace.com/juliettecommagere

-Brodie Jenkins