September 06, 2003

Nedelle "Republic of Two"

It takes exactly two minutes of listening to Republic of Two before you're reminded of the utterly wonderful Everything But the Girl. Nedelle Torrisi--aka Nedelle--has that same twee, sensitive, sad voice that the world grew to love on Eden, A Distant Shore and Baby The Stars Shine Bright. Thorne's voice fluttering against simple, easy arrangements--often nothing more than a bass/drum/acoustic guitar--was quite an innovative style in the early 1980s--the decadent, bombastic 1980s--and that they became famous in spite of excess shows exactly how much of a chord Everything But the Girl struck back then. Ben and Tracey expanded the definition of pop, to include elemnts of folk, dance and jazz--and they made some wonderful music along the way.

Unfortunately, Nedelle Torrisi isn't Tracey Thorn. Though her voice doesn't compare to Thorn's, Torrisi does have excellent writing skills; you cannot complain about her songwriting, as it's pretty top-notch, too. It's just that she's...well...too influenced by EBTG. It's impossible to deny those influences, either; they're quite obvious, and, sadly, it's a bit distracting. It's impossible not to compare Nedelle to Everything But the Girl, and because of that, Nedelle's always going to come up the lesser of the two.

Don't think that mere imitiation necessarily means a disappointing listen. While Republic of Two might not be the most original sounding record, it would be wrong to deny Nedelle the credit for making an extremely nice record. The songs on here are short--in fact, only one breaks the three minute mark--and the fact that Nedelle is so succinct in her songwriting saves Republic of Two from boredom or repetition. Songs such as "Come Around," "Too Late," "Possess Me" and the title track are all strong, jazzy numbers that will quickly stick in your head, as they're full of sugar-sweet hooks that will win you over.

Let's not dismiss Nedelle just yet, please; after all, this is merely her debut record, and there's plenty of time for her to grow. Republic of Two is a fine sounding debut record, even if it's not the most original-sounding. I know that I've smiled every time I've listened to Republic of Two and isn't that the most important thing? Republic of Two also holds up after repeated listens, and though the weaknesses may seem to outnumber the strengths, it's certainly not worth dismissing her because of them. Give Nedelle some time, and she'll win you over.

--Joseph Kyle

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