Friday, November 27, 2009

truth or consequences

Fiery, red headed, ruby lipped chanteuse, Paloma Faith is about to release the third jewel from her glittering, debut longplayer, "Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?" It's the title track and as with her previous singles, "Stone Cold Sober" and "New York", she has lensed a lush, art deco inspired video for it which continues the thematic arc of the album's artwork.



Clearly, after two mid-table hits, the video budget for the third has been scaled back a bit. Such a shame that Paloma's album, while having tickled the fancy of the critics, hasn't translated into an all out smash. Some think it might be her husky, smoky vocal tones which only have a passing resemblance to Amy Winehouse.

There's a playfulness to Paloma and wry humor that has never been associated with Amy's darker shapes. Once I got a chance to peel back the curtain and experience Paloma behind the scenes, that's when I became more than a casual fan. She's down to earth while still maintaining a streak of grandeur and glamor about her. She's simultaneously warm and cool. She's pleasantly sarcastic and bawdy one moment, then displays fleeting moments of disarming coquettishness the next.

Check out one of her recent video blog entries from the set of the video for the new single.



I love it how she's having a great time but is clearly non-plussed about the reduced video budget or the current station of her recording career. Epic has certainly shoveled loadsamoney into the project. I think it's time to start thinking about that sophomore album.

7 comments:

  1. OVER. EXPOSED.
    OVER. RATED.
    OVER.

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  2. I love Paloma and the album is great, but in my opinion there's a tiny something which is missing to propel her into the 'smash hit' league. I think perhaps the imagery and production is too sophisticated for the average chart buyer. Stargazer would have been my pick for the third single. How do you pick a single these days though?
    Paloma and Trevor Horn for the 2nd album please.
    Now...where is that "New York" acapella so I can do a remix?

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  3. @Jams - Tell me how you really feel, Mr. Jams. :) I see you're not a big fan. :)

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  4. @dbmcnz - I thought "Stargazer" would've been the third single, as well. I was surprised to see "DYWTTOSB?" turn up.

    I agree with your assessment. Paloma is probably a little too clever, stylized and sophisticated to crossover at the moment. But it's a great debut and should lead to more success if she's handled correctly.

    Trevor Horn would be an inspired choice of producer for her next album. Let's get the word out there!

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  5. Agreed on bad choice of single. I might have picked Play On - it has that major blaring chorus!

    And did you notice the Annie Lennox Why references in the opening shot?

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  6. @xolondon - I don't think it's a bad choice, just the wrong choice. I agree with you that "Play On", or perhaps my other favorite, "Stargazer", would have been better choices for the third single.

    Is the opening a reference to "Why" or is it just simple and easy to shoot since it's an overused, visual metaphor? :) Remember "Father Figure" by George Michael?

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  7. This bloody woman is playing hire-an-opinion on every television programme in the UK at the moment., and she is just so damn common, saying things which are just plain obvious and uninteresting. She irritates, and I don't think she'll be around much longer.

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