'Head on a stick'

So in the world of music there are two types of music one would describe as 'odd'. First, you've got the eccentric artists who maybe defy genres and blur the lines between styles. And then you've got the ones who's off-beat melodies and eccentric instrumentals add that wacky sense of confusion to their music. This girl i'm about to review encompasses both of these definitions of 'odd' and throws in a few more symptoms to the mix. Witness the bizarre music stylings of

AURALLAURA

Mmmm the name's very nearly a pallendrome. That gets me excited. So anyway what is it that makes this girl so strange? Well I'm gonna start by saying it's probably best to listen to that first track on her playlist - she says herself in her description its unlike her other music, and frankly doesn't portray her in the best light. So, moving on to the next track, we are introduced to this really nice little jazz intro, complete with sax and rolling drum fills. Then she begins singing and we begin to get a sense of her oddness. Her voice is nice; she's got this deep, soulful tone that would be right at home with the jazz in the bakground. But there's just something about the lyrics and style of er voice that gives definate meaning to her 'experimental' label. And i can't quite put my finger on what it is, but i hope i'm not the only one who would hesitate to describe this as simple 'jazz' despite the instrumentals and vocals. 
Well luckily, something happens in the third song in the playlist that gives us another hint to just what this girl is doing with herself. This song is...so very different, it's quite a struggle to write about. We get this element of jazz again, but we're introduced to off beat vocals, and that thing the Bob Dylan always does where he tries to fit hundreds of words in a four beat bar. And each verse seems so completely different from the last. We've got a shrill chorus of lalala's that seem to have come straight from Snow White and her animal friends, and then suddenly from that same chorus we get harmonies and echoes that would suit music hall. The lyrics are also questionable, and in the very next song you'll here 'Won't you bring me on a stick, the dismembered head of Philip K Dick' and then things get completely insane and you're left wondering about the mind that created this music. 


The rest of the playlist continues in this similar vein. One thing i will point out is that there are some incredibly nice harmonies in this music. And while completely bizarre (like evreything else this girl has to offer) add something really nice to the songs. 
Now this girl has serious talent, because no one would dare attempt this 40s throwback style of music unless they were very confident in their own abilities. And the eccentiricities, while a little unnerving and intimidating at the beginning, become entirely part of who this girl is, and i find it brilliant that she has achieved such a unique way to express herself in music. I'm sure a lot of us like to think we express ourself in someway or other, but i can guarantee that we all wish we could do it in such a creative, insane way that this girl does. 
I can honestly find only praise for this kind of music, and while i'm not immediatly rushing off to put it on my iPod, what is there not to, if not like, then at least respect, about this music?


Nothing, that's what.