Aida - Wide Eyed

  by John Clarkson

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

Label: Freshchest
Format: CD

intro

New York singer-songwriter Aida's debut album 'Wide Eyed' is striking in its simplicity. It has no overdubs, no sound effects and the production on it has been played down and is deliberately minima

New York singer-songwriter Aida's debut album 'Wide Eyed' is striking in its simplicity. It has no overdubs, no sound effects and the production on it has been played down and is deliberately minimalistic. The twenty six year old indie neo-folk singer appears alone on all seven of the album's tracks. accompanying herself only with an acoustic guitar. It is this bareness and starkness that, however, makes 'Wide Eyed' so compelling and forcible. Each song stands on its own merits , having a razor's edge sense of closeness and intimacy that other showier albums, however more grandscale, would find impossible to achieve. Elliott Smith is an obvious comparision. Aida, however, has much in common also with Tori Amos. Her voice has a similar plucky earthiness and her lyrics are equally confessional, but while Amos has moved increasingly towards mysticism and her own self-described "alternative reality", Aida's thoughts are pinned entirely on the ordinary world. Devoid entirely of self-pity, 'Wide Eyed' reflects life simply as it is-with all its sorrows, sadnesses, pecularities and occasional joys. Opener 'Where The Chips May Fall' has Aida resourcefully refusing to be "second best" to a boyfriend who has moved out to Las Vegas, while 'Blonde in a Bikini' is about finding the courage to know when to move on. ''One Night Stand' meanwhile describes the brief meeting of "intimate strangers" ,while 'The William Bell Song' and the closing number 'His Descension' both chronicle the collapse of a long-term relationship and it aftermath. Barely twenty minutes long, 'Wide Eyed' is a honest, brave, and rewarding experience. While its undertones are humble, it has a gripping, if understated power. An album of exceptional quality, it is one of the albums of the year and is an absolute gem.

Track Listing:-