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| Artist: A Fine Frenzy
Label: Charisma
Category: Music
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £8.78
You Save: £3.21 (27%)
New (10) Used (1) from £8.08
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 1355
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
EAN: 5099920872427
ASIN: B00158FK2Y
Release Date: June 16, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-10 of 10 | | « PREV | | |
 A stunning album April 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There is a tendency right now to suggest that we have too many singer songwriters. I'm never quite sure why one would think that, but in any case the argument is shot right out of the water by Alison Sudol and her band, A Fine Frenzy. Based in Los Angeles, but frequent visitors to Europe, the band manages to weave together a number of musical and literary interests and turn these into songs that are quite simply stunning.
Alison Sudol is an artist - not in the often rather over-worked use of that word, but in a very real sense. She is a poet who manages to capture emotions, fears, regrets and desires (and sometimes just quirky insights); and she is a composer who uses both classical and modern influences to shape sometimes haunting, sometimes reassuring, sometimes challenging tunes. When you listen to her, you may find yourself hearing the raw emotion or the poetic insight even before your ears have processed the sound.
A good place to start is with her first song, Almost Lover - her debut single pretty well everywhere except (for some reason) in the UK. It is a haunting song about seduction and betrayal, describing more perfectly than I have ever heard before the natural incomprehension that can be felt by any abandoned person - and with the quite brilliant summing up: 'So you're gone and I'm haunted, and I bet you're just fine'.
But all her songs are classics-in-waiting, with the extraordinary capacity to engage and satisfy without becoming boring or repetitive, even when heard many times. She has been described as 'quirky', and you can get a sense of that in what she sometimes describes as her 'song about fish', The Minnow and the Trout (which contains the words of the album title, and which in fact has a strong message); or in the metaphors used in the punchy Rangers.
Maybe that is something that defines her talent and style - her ability to use metaphors without it becoming opaque or inaccessible - a genuine poet for our times and for everyone.
One Cell in the Sea is my favourite album for this decade - a debut work which is brilliant, poetic, artistic and musical. If there is any justice, A Fine Frenzy will be a household name before very long all over the world.
A Fine Tuned Album March 29, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
A super album from the wonderfully talented Alison. Songs to make you smile and be you to...if you are looking for an artist with great vocals and with songs that puts you at awe...its her. A great first album which captivates you from when you begin to play it to the very end. Love it.
Absolutely beautiful March 29, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Amidst a glut of female singer songwriters, A Fine Frenzy stand head and shoulders above their peers. From the opening bars to the last few notes this album never fails to dazzle, both lyrically and musically. If you are looking for something full and rewarding, then this is the answer to your prayers.
 Enchanting August 14, 2007
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
A Fine Frenzy is basically singer/songwriter Alison Sudol, and I suppose you could say that it's a wise decision to at least have the pretence of a stage name. After all, female singer-songwriters are ten a penny these days.
The blurb tells us she taught herself to play piano and is a fan of classical music, Motown, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Louis Armstrong, amongst others. A disparate array of influences perhaps, but ones that are brought together to surprisingly haunting effect.
The music is beautifully pitched, with delightful piano that never descends into the pop parody of a, say, Delta Goodrem, and Sudol has a disarming voice that you'll not be able to resist falling in love with.
What marks this album out from the pack is it's lyrical excellence as well. The claimed fantasy influences of such authors as EB White and CS Lewis is clear in the "tale" songs in her repertoire (such as The Minnow & The Trout) yet the songs which are more firmly based in the heartfelt real life side of things (such as You Picked Me) are just as good.
As ever, or so it seems, the criticism would be that it's all a bit one-paced and there is nothing much that differentiates each track from the one that follows it. It's not that much of a criticism, given that there isn't a track that you'd really want to skip every time and the lush production and Sudol's beautiful voice are just as good every time.
The one exception to the similarity is album closer, Borrowed Time, which sees Sudol pick up the acoustic guitar and pluck out a delicate, fruity melody that might recall Travis' best moments to some.
There's a lot to admire on this debut, and it's faults shouldn't dissuade you from checking it out, especially if it sounds like your kind of thing in general. In essence it's a pretty good debut that simultaneously marks A Fine Frenzy as one to watch and also suggests that there's more to come next time around.
Get into a fine frenzy August 7, 2007
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
Wow! This young woman deserves to be massive. I stumbled upon this release when I was looking at Amazon.com, and they had a mini feature on Alison (otherwise known as A Fine Frenzy) just before the release of the CD. Her music was described as beautiful piano led melodies. The fact that she also wrote her own music and lyrics also appealed to me - this shows real talent, rather than yet another pretty young face with a style and image manufactured by a music label. I have now had ONE CELL IN THE SEA for only a couple of days, but I can honestly say that this is one of the best releases that I have heard for a long time.
The melodies are superb and the lyrics are intelligent and original. Alison's voice is also fantastic - she has quite a distinctive voice - and she has great range and pitch.
The songs are a mixture of straightforward love songs (such as "Almost Lover") along with more conceptually themed tracks (such as "Rangers"). "Almost Lover" is actualy the song that struck me most on first hearing the whole album - it is beautifully sad; the music is subtle with a slow tempo, but there is bags of emotion supplied through her voice and the lyrics which show a maturity behind her tender years.
Other standout tracks for me include "You Picked Me" which is a lovely uptempo love song, describing how, like an apple from a tree, her lover picked her even though she was difficult to reach. "Ashes and Wine" is another sad love song about the end of a relationship and the hope that it may be rekindled.
I could go on and list all of them. This album is so well executed and produced that there are really no fillers. It really is an incredibly accomplished piece of work.
It is hard to think of someone to compare Alison to, because there are so few truly talented artists around. For me, it was the fact that she played the piano that drove me to buy her album. For talent and originality, I would compare her to Tori Amos, although Alison is far more accessible than Amos.
Given the standard of ONE CELL IN THE SEA, I shall eagerly await her second release. If she can maintain this level or develop it, it should be amazing.
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