Released: January 20
Sam Brown overcomes the odds with ‘Number 8’ – her first studio album in 15 years.
The follow-up to 2007’s ‘Of the Moment’ reintroduces the eighties star with a refreshed new sound that follows the devastating loss of her singing voice and journey to rebuild her vocal abilities and confidence to return to the studio.
“When I began experiencing difficulties with my voice, obviously I started on a rigorous pursuit of answers [but] nothing changed my inability to achieve pitch and closure simultaneously,” she explains, revealing her comeback project was pitched using autotune software Melodyne, which she credits for enabling her to create new music.
“It also meant I could add harmonies, double tracking etc.,” she beams, quipping: “The end result is like nothing I’ve ever done before. In short, it’s all fake!”
It’s a journey she addresses from the opening lines of It’s Okay, on which she sings over electronic beats: ‘It’s okay to be broken / It’s okay to be blue’. It’s a sound like nothing she’s attempted before, set aside from her early material, and one that goes hand-in-hand with the all new Sam Brown.
Tracks like Doll and Marionette continue to riff off the artificial nature of the vocals while offering a commentary on an industry that’s preoccupied with image and looks, whereas Showgirl explores the dichotomy between one’s personal and public personae – something the singer-songwriter has experienced first-hand throughout her decades-long career.
The combination of electronic instrumentals with Sam’s modified vocals – which vary from natural sounding to overtly robotic – makes for a captivating listen that is sometimes playful, other times unsettling, while never coming across as a gimmick.
Conceptually it’s a triumph, and woven through the set are nods to where the musician could take her sound next. Take Tribe, for instance, on which synthesized strings form the backdrop to a rousing, mid-tempo number, while reflective closer Ghost is a haunting ode to days gone by.
What stands out most, however, is Sam’s commitment to her craft; unwilling to take no for an answer, she persevered in finding a path through her vocal issues and succeeded in crafting an exceptionally creative and cohesive set that brings her sound bang up to date and offers a second chance for one of the best songwriters to come out of the eighties.
‘Number 8’ is available now.
READ MORE: Sam Brown: ‘I was frightened of being creative after losing my ability to sing’
