Ren Harvieu is not an entirely new artist but her latest album feels like the sort of thing that's announcing a bold new talent. Revel in the Drama, out today via Bella Union, finds the Mancunian singer updating the torch song, or a version of it, for the end of the world. Lush, swooning, and sweeping, the music within these grooves warmed my heart in this bleak week.
On "Spirit Me Away", Ren Harvieu sounds like K.D. Lang, but on other numbers, like the playful "Strange Thing", her vocal prowess seems more unique. The melody is old fashioned but fun, as is the big hook in "Little Raven", an absolutely stunning offering here. Elsewhere, on "Teenage Mascara" and "Cruel Disguise", the music is an epic updating of old sides from Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra only retrofitted for the 21st century. Critics may draw comparisons to the heartfelt pop of Adele and Duffy, but Ren Harvieu is more interested in the overall effect here. She's helped in that regard thanks to assistance by Romeo Stodart of The Magic Numbers.
Now, lest any of you think this sounds like that band: it doesn't. Revel in the Drama is closer to certain numbers from Eddi Reader and Kate Bush than anything else. Ren imbues all of this with a good deal of sultry passion, and heart-on-the-sleeve intensity, yet the entire artifice of the retro arrangements is maintained throughout. Still, for all the genuine nods to pop pioneers of the past, Ren Harvieu's music is, like that of Stereolab and Broadcast, beholden to the past's view of the future, if that makes any sense at all. And the arrangements allow these tracks to give a listener chills up the spine. The whole package is a rich one, and one anchored by Ren Harvieu's amazing voice and natural presence as a performer.
Revel in the Drama is out today via Bella Union.
More details on Ren Harvieu via the official website, or the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Bella Union]