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Rating: There are artists who have all the right credentials (talent, voice, and, why not, even looks) to make an impression on the general public and
Overpowered is her second solo album, and even though it isn't up to the standard of the previous Ruby Blue (a very unique and beautiful electro-swing album created in collaboration with the brilliant producer/musician Mattew Herbert), it is still a great listen that deserves to wreak havoc on the European charts and beyond.
Despite the dark and hypnotic title track (somewhere between Depeche Mode and the latest Madonna, one of the best singles released this year) being somewhat misleading, those expecting another entirely dance album with syncopated and "pumped" bass might be disappointed or relieved (depending on their tastes, of course). Here, however, an attempt was made to create a middle ground, a fusion between lighter and skeletal European dance (among the many co-producers and co-authors of the album are members of Groove Armada and All Seeing I, far from the so-called French house scene) and current American r'n'b.
The eleven tracks on the album (plus the two bonus tracks) flow pleasantly and are evenly divided between dance (a bit too "bubbly" in Let Me Know, in the style of Kylie Minogue) reminiscent of the early '90s (You Know Me Better and Parallel Lives seem like the offspring of Seal's very first singles with Adamski), the electroclash of the latest Goldfrapp (among the most striking... even she couldn’t resist cloning Summer/Moroder's I Feel Love in her Cry Baby) and several soft urban-soul moments that sound exactly as if Lisa Stansfield were produced by Timbaland; two of these, Checkin' On Me and Primitive, are among the best and most enchanting moments of the album. Listening closely, only one track could have been spared, that Footprints which might seem like the work of the less successful Furtado (from her latest single). To all this, add the usual super-sexy voice that sends hormones skyrocketing, an undeniable interpretative charisma, and that "indie-friendly" attitude which, unlike many of the aforementioned colleagues, makes her decidedly more likable to the ears, and the pen, of critics and enthusiasts.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Overpowered (05:08)
When I think that I'm over you
I'm overpowered
Your data my data
The chromosomes match
Exact as in matter
A matter of fact
These amaranth feelings
A cognitive state
Need the love object
To reciprocate
When I think that I'm over you
I'm overpowered
It's long overdue
I'm overpowered
When I think that I'm over you
I'm overpowered
It's long overdue
I'm overpowered
As science struggles on to try to explain
Oxy-toxin's flowing ever into my brain
As science struggles on to try to explain
Oxy-toxin's flowing ever into my brain
A chemical reason
If reason's your game
A chemical needing
Is there in the brain
With preprogrammed meanings
Like a little more pep
Alien feelings
We have to accept
When I think that I'm over you
I'm overpowered
It's long overdue
I'm overpowered
When I think that I'm over you
I'm overpowered
It's long overdue
I'm overpowered
As science struggles on to try to explain
Oxy-toxin's flowing ever into my brain
As science struggles on to try to explain
Oxy-toxin's flowing ever into my brain
I'm overpowered
03 Checkin' on Me (04:39)
It's your uneasy mind
That's been making you blind
I won't lie to you
You've got trouble inside
Baby, I've nothing to hide
I've been good to you
All the way from New York City
Calling me constantly
He's asking if I'm sitting pretty
Waiting patiently
Darling, I would not forsake me
I'm telling you honestly, yeah yeah
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
It's time to set me free
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
How can you judge
If I don't miss you enough?
Any fool can see
If you can't trust yourself
Can't trust nobody else
Did you lie to me?
Yeah, did you lie to me?
Even when we are together
Still the jealousy
You know, I just wanna dance forever
And you wanna take that from me
Suppose you really think you're clever
Stealing my liberty, yeah, yeah
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
It's time to set me free
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
I got much to think about
Looking into you
I need to know when you're going out
And all the things you do
You may not be guilty by default
And have the nerve to question me
When it's you who could get caught
What do you think I'm gonna find
When I'm checkin' up on you?
Maybe you've got something to hide
Though I think I always knew
What do you think I'm gonna find
When I'm checkin' up on you?
Maybe you've got something to hide
Though I think I always knew
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
It's time to set me free
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
It's time to set me free
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
It's time to set me free
What do you think you're gonna find
Checkin' up on me?
Baby, you've got a troubled mind
04 Let Me Know (05:09)
I turn the other way
I'll never turn you down
You turn me on
Don't speak out every meaning
I don't belong to you
You don't belong to me
So don't hold on too tightly...
Let me know when you're lonely babe
Let me know when you're lonely babe
Happier now than I've been in the past
Gone are the days
Gone are the tears
That was a girl I used to be
The girl that you now see standing in front of you
Could keep going on
Because she believes
In setting you free
So let me know when you're lonely babe
Let me know when you're lonely baby
Let me know when you're lonely babe
Let me know when you're lonely baby
I turn the other way
I can never turn you down
You turn me on
Don't speak out every meaning
I don't belong to you
Like you don't belong to me
So don't hold on too tightly
Let forever be
So let me know when you're lonely babe
Let me know when you're lonely baby
Let me know when you're lonely babe
Let me know when you're lonely baby
Let me know when you're lonely babe (it might be sweet)
Let me know when you're lonely baby (if we could meet)
Let me know when you're lonely babe (along the way)
Let me know when you're lonely baby (that could be okay)
They're all the same in this cynical age
I won't be
Your ball and chain
I risk my reputation
Just to get a room
You always have the reservation
So come lie down beside me (so let me know when you're lonely babe)
(Let me know when you're lonely baby) Beside me
(Let me know when you're lonely babe) Beside me
(Let me know when you're lonely baby) Beside me
So let me know when you're lonely babe (it might be sweet)
Let me know when you're lonely baby (if we could meet)
Let me know when you're lonely babe (along the way)
Let me know when you're lonely baby (that could be okay)
That could be okay
It might be sweet
If we could meet
Along the way
That could be okay
05 Movie Star (04:01)
I'm a trusting soul not ashamed of living dangerously
And I'm a headstrong girl, I'm afraid I won't be told
I feel my destiny is only 'round the corner
Sugar daddy promised me I'll be sitting on top of the world
He saw my naked ambitions said I would leave them wanting more
That could be crazy wishing we could ever have it all
Have it all, have it all
We'll make a movie, we'll break into cinema
You'll be director and I'll be your movie star
We'll make a movie, the darlings of cinema
You'll be director and I'll be your movie star
So he's a headstrong guy and perhaps I shouldn't listen
There's a million girls wanna be in my position
If he tells me lies I'll suspend my disbelieving
I leave it all behind, I ain't asking for permission
Feels like a new beginning and there's so much to explore
It's not so crazy thinking we could really have it all
Have it all, have it all
We'll make a movie, we'll break into cinema
You'll be director and I'll be your movie star
We'll make a movie, the darlings of cinema
You'll be director and I'll be your movie star
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Other reviews
By genji
Overpowered is a true gem of electronic pop blending dance and soul influences.
A complex album where Roisin Murphy’s voice dissolves the boundaries that distinguish different genres.
