Well with all the anticipation of Imogen’s 3rd solo album starting to snowball up we take time to review one of Immi’s first singles “Shine” taken from iMegaphone.
Shocking though it may be today, there’s four tracks and three are non album ones! “Shine” is a fabulous alternative rock/noise piece with weird heart beating percussion, reversed keyboard samples and Imogen’s soaring vocals really giving it some welly! It was arguably the most single-esque track on the album and deserves any acclaim it has garnered.
However “Airplane” is actually possibly the most commercial and instantly catchy song from the iMegaphone era and it surprises me it didn’t make the album. Its breezy chorus was the first real showing of the now staple ad libbing scat that Heap’s become known for making a genre all of her own. The music itself a colourful blend of dark bass and fluffy synths and piano.
That’s then followed up by the epic “Wireless” which probably just eeks out “Miel” (taken from the “Getting Scared” single) for the winning epic song. “Wireless” comes in at 8 minutes of looped drums, vocal snippets and keyboard samples. It gradually evolves from something hypnotic into something quiet harrowingly cut-throat in the middle segment where all the noise is turned to distorted jabs. However all is restored again after for the ending.
Finally “Leave Me Here to Love” is a personal all time fav from Imogen Heap. It’s just her and the piano however her voice has been fused with an electric guitar which I assume is match the sharp tongue as she dishes out all kinds of fantastical lyrics in this angst ridden song of hate and bile. A work of art.
I wish people would still release b-sides like these. Imogen and a few other artists still do thankfully. These gems are worth more than a lot of albums I’ve bought and any fan would be wise to start collecting this gem now.