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Rating: Simple titles often hide many surprises. Someone might remember that little masterpiece Jenny Wilson named "Love & Youth," and many will have appreciated "You Are Free" by Cat Power. Ordinary titles. And yet.
"Beauty & Crime" peeks out as if nothing happened six years after the controversial and confused "Songs In Red And Gray." It's a surprise for everyone, and it's very welcome. Vega manages the challenging task of reshuffling all her cards, taking everything good she had pulled out of the hat so far and mixing it up to create something completely new and original.
The theatrical piece "Bound" is the perfect synthesis of Vega's new art, with the dramatic opening of violins and then the powerful and clanking beat of the percussion. The other half of the diptych, "Unbound," indeed complementary, refers to the happier episodes (those few) of "Songs...," with the "railway" beat that seems stolen from Fiona Apple's "Fast As You Can." The power-pop of "Frank & Ava" relies on an electric guitar for the opening, and with "As You Are Now" Vega reveals herself as a refined chamber rock songwriter, complete with wind instruments and gusts of strings (a choice that also characterizes the epilogue of "Anniversary," enriched by black choirs). "Pornographer's Dream" delves into the past, with the piano marking the lounge rhythm, and "Ludlow Street" reveals itself after repeated listens as one of the purest and most moving pop songs heard in recent times.
The album is initially bewildering for the generous amount of themes covered. Musical themes, that is. And this partially compromises its linearity and, ultimately, its incisiveness. Vega's voice, however, further improved in setup, is flexible and versatile enough to always be appropriate, with all the limitations of the case.
"Beauty & Crime" has the power to completely make us reconsider the fate of a singer-songwriter who in recent years seemed to have become a pale shadow of herself. And indeed, it puts her back in the game with a more secure and outlined image than ever. 2007 seemed to be an unfortunate year for singer-songwriters. It seemed.
Tracklist and Lyrics
05 Frank & Ava (02:37)
On the way to the bidet
Is when the trouble used to start
It didn't mean she wasn't queen
Of the tinderbox that was his heart
Her fire his desire meant that
Everything must come undone
And so now we know it's not enough to be in love
He's so true, she is too
She says, "I love you Frank," and then they drank
All night, what a fight
He says it isn't me you're thinking of
She's cool, it makes him cruel
And they needle till the jewels
Go raining down upon the ground
She says it's not enough to be in love
Not enough to be in love
Not enough to be in love
They woke up, and they broke up
They were so volatile, and all the while
Life passed, and it went fast
And yet they never could forget
Their chemistry, like you and me
It proved to keep them both apart for life
And so, now we know
That it's not enough to be in love
Not enough to be in love
To be in love
To be in love
To be in love
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