Nerina Pallot - Year Of The Wolf (2011)

Nerina Pallot is a solo artist who has released a few albums in the past. Many fans say her previous work is much better than this album but I find that this one to my newbie ears is a very good album. For sheer songwriting and singing ability, Nerina, who is of half-Indian, half-French descent, has created a likable record and one which will leave you feeling quite intruiged. The songbird seems to be in a stage in her life where she has found love and a lot of songs are about this. I don't usually listen to a lot of female solo artists but the first three songs, 'Put Your Hands Up', 'Turn Me On Again', and 'All Bets Are Off', are very popdelicious and perk up your curiousity.

Unlike Keane's Under The Iron Sea the music keeps coming, but there is a palpable light airy feeling to her voice which somehow doesn't connect with me. I can't quite place it but upon finishing this excellent album I was filled with an emptiness and feeling of loss but in a bad way. I felt displaced, which is strange because for such a talented artist, I should feel whole, but I don't. Does a part of me wish it had go on and on? Perhaps, it just isn't my kind of music.

The production was done by Bernard Butler of Suede fame who was working with Duffy until she decided to fire him and the arrangements are varied and keep you listening and he lends his guitar to most of the tracks.. All the tracks seem to offer up something new and maybe this is simply an album which I need to listen to more. It has already brought me back for the third time which is impressive, so there is that quality which draws you in. 

The lyrics are good but there is still something which nags me. Maybe the personal nature of the record doesn't speak directly to my experience and I find it hard to relate. She has clearly found romance and is writing about how it has changed her life and made her go a bit mad in the process. I don't know, maybe she is just too level headed for me. I prefer stronger emotions but I must say I do think she has the gift of a wonderful tune, whether it comes from her voice or from the instruments - guitar, piano, horns. 

I hope, like I think everyone does in 2020, that this will be our year like Ms. Pallot promises us on 'This Will Be Our Year' but I've experienced enough disappointments to take such statements at face value. Maybe the cynic in me prevents me from enjoying this record more but I feel it might be down to the fact that she sounds a lot like other female artists I've heard on the radio. In nothing else though, this is perfect pop mixed with soul, rock, and some gospel elements. 

Having gone back again and read about her bio, she was raised in Jersey and is British. She gave birth to her son in 2010 and was married in 2007. This means this is not a love album of a new-found love but a more mature look at relationships. Certainly, Nerina Pallot is a very intelligent songwriter, and sometimes we need to delve deeper to appreciate some art and I need to look more into this artiste.