The Philippine Star

It was in the late 1990s when beautiful Australian pop star Natalie Imbruglia first made her mark with emotion-filled power ballads like Torn, Smoke, Wishing I was There, Big Mistake, That Day, Do You Love? Beauty on Fire and Wrong Impression. While her songs also dealt with feminine angst and problematic male-female relationships, the glamorous looks of the former model and soap opera star put her in direct contrast with then girl of the moment Alanis Morissette. It is generally believed that her being different was what gained her a huge following all over the world.
Then, after two albums, the phenomenally-successful Left of the Middle followed by White Lilies Islands and one movie, the James Bond spoof Johnny English where she played Mr. Bean Rowan Atkinson’s sexy assistant, nothing more was heard about Natalie Imbruglia. That is until a few weeks ago when she released her third album. It turns out she had gotten married to Daniel Johns of the also Australian rock group Silverchair and probably took some time off from her career to be with her husband.
So now, nearly three years after White Lilies Island, Imbruglia is back with Counting Down the Days, a veritable gem of light, guitar-based rock songs that is such a dream to listen to. Honestly, getting to this album after the enjoyable experience of Something to Be by Rob Thomas makes me feel like I am in pop music heaven. It feels almost unbelievable that there is this new album by a big-name female artist and she is not singing R&B with all those curly adlibs or screaming her lungs out. And the great thing about it is that we all know that Imbruglia can do it.
Is this the influence of Daniel Johns? Of course, his group Silverchair is not exactly known for soft rock music so I do not know what made Imbruglia choose to go for a quieter sound with lots of strings. Why, she even keeps her vocals down by a decibel or two. Maybe the reason is probably the contentment she feels over having at last settled down. This happiness is also mirrored in the songs included in the album, most of which are her own compositions. She has some heartbroken tracks like Counting Down the Days and Come on Home but the other tunes are by someone who is happily lovelorn.
Starting Today says Every day you give me reason not to walk away.
I walk a mile with a smile, she sings in Shiver.
Fallen three times in a row/waking up with vertigo/ but you were there to break my fall/ before I had to face it all, goes I Won’t Be Lost. Sanctuary has a verse that goes I wanna lead you and follow you/ I wanna hold you and keep it true/ so many things that I wanna do with you, and a refrain that repeats, I want to be your sanctuary.
But the one that really says it to the max is the song Perfectly. Every fall, every crash/ everything that was never meant to be/ all the perfect little things I can’t release/ all the nights every time/ we were just about to leave/ now makes no sense to me/ but it seems when we fall/ that’s when we land perfectly. If that is not by someone very much in love, I do not know what is.
And in case you are interested, Daniel returns the sentiments with the one song he wrote for Natalie’s album. It is titled Satisfied and it says, Something high it keeps me here/ something that keeps us together/ within the storm I fail to hear/ you keep me dry despite the weather/ I don’t need to feel this way for you/ but I do and I feel satisfied.
Ordinarily, words like these will cause an album to be described as sweet and when they come in one cut after another, the songs acquire the tendency to sound alike. But that might just be its purpose, as the whole album flows easily up to the end. Besides, Imbruglia in a more confident rock stance, wisely keeps the music on the edge, firmly grounded but ready to break out in full power at the snap of a finger.

Manchester Online

Natalie makes a welcome return with the release of her eagerly-anticipated third album. Work began back in 2002, after she completed Johnny English, and worked with writers/producers Eg White (Will Young's Leave Right Now), and husband Daniel Johns, to produce an album that showcases her gentle and emotive vocals. From the acoustic simplicity of Starting Today and the stirring title track, to the indie-esque guitar swirl of Sanctuary, and the stark and bare piano-led On The Run, Counting Down The Days demonstrates how the former Neighbours actress has evolved into an organic and formidable singing/songwriting talent.

Guardian Unlimited

Now more famous as one of L'Oréal's living dolls than as the Torn pixie of her 2001 debut, Natalie Imbruglia has put down the mascara and picked up her pen to prove love isn't easy, however much you're worth it. Revisiting the mid-tempo rhythms of her last album, White Lilies Island, Imbruglia turns from muse to troubled girl next door, gushing about love and fretting about voices in her head, while acoustic guitars, flutes and strings whip a radio-friendly pop froth around her. Bored with pushing perfection, she's selling an old-fashioned brand of submission, her feisty edge eroded to a disturbing gratefulness. I Won't Be Lost and Sanctuary cast the ex-soap star as a self-sacrificing lamb determined to hang on to her man. "The further you push me, the closer I feel to you," she sings in Perfectly, with an unnatural sunniness. Imbruglia's voice sounds better than ever - hanging on to words as if she's rolling out an expensive carpet - and Shiver is a catchy slice of grown-up pop, but beneath the perfect facade, lies the musings of a mixed-up little girl.

Gaydar

Natalie Imbruglia is beautiful, successful and certainly not short of a penny or two. She has managed the difficult transition from Australian soap regular to international movie roles and, as if that’s not enough, she is the face of L’Oreal.
All of which begs the following question: when Imbruglia’s second album, White Lilies Island essentially tanked, why would she bother to continue making records and not focus on the more profitable aspects of her career?
Her new album, Counting Down The Days gives us an unequivocal answer: she is passionate about her music and has musical ability in abundance.
From the breezy jangling guitar opening of the first track, ‘Starting Today’, this is sunshine-soaked, uplifting pop music at its most joyous. With the bouncy instrumentation and Natalie’s confident insistence, “Starting today / I’m not gonna worry about tomorrow”, the album instantly engenders a feeling of irrepressible optimism.
It segues effortlessly into the triumphant single, ‘Shiver’. With this song, you can cancel Derek Acorah, as Natalie finally lays to rest the ghost of ‘Torn’, the brilliant debut song that has haunted her subsequent musical career. Flawless production, a catchy chorus and a textbook song structure that builds and builds, ‘Shiver’ is how acoustic pop should be done.
The title track is the first of the ballads in which Natalie proves herself as proficient here as she is with the upbeat poppier tracks. What the slower pace of ‘Counting Down The Days’ reveals is the warmth and emotional timbre of Natalie’s vocals. It may not be the biggest voice in music, but she has a strong, well-pitched sound that conveys colour and tone – and can certainly knock that other diminutive antipodean soap star-turned-songstress into a cocked hat.
Maintaining the more sedate pace, ‘I Won’t Be Lost’ is an airy, wistful paean to the vulnerability of lovers. If there is one weakness to these songs it’s that the well-constructed melodies are more convincing than the lyrical content. Rarely do the sentiments stray far from the generic or banal: “Don't you give up on me / Cause I wouldn't be very strong”.
In contrast, one of the highlights, ‘Slow Down’, appears curiously old-fashioned. It feels like an undiscovered Olivia Newton John ballad, both fragile and beautifully affecting. There is a disarming intensity to Natalie’s vocals, which is somewhat reminiscent of Jewel in a contemplative mood.
What works slightly less effectively is the indie-angst styling of ‘Sanctuary’, an over busy, over insistent, but directionless track. It feels as if Natalie is trying to ape someone else’s musical identity but then decides against it. It is the only track-skipper on the album.
Fortunately, after that dalliance, ‘Perfectly’ aims full square at the Imbruglia hit formula. While you might end up singing snatches of ‘Torn’ and ‘Shiver’ in the instrumental breaks of the track - an indication it could justifiably be accused of being a tad derivative – if you looked up the phrase “catchy chorus” on dictionary.com, it could well reprise ‘Perfectly’ for you.
What really defines the achievement of Counting Down The Days is that every song could be pared down to simply voice and piano or guitar alone. These are stand-alone songs that don’t need the fog of a slick production to make them work.
The album relies on melodic compositions, into which great chord progressions and memorable hook lines have been crafted. The arrangements are simple, effective and focussed, giving a live feel throughout. Even with the additional woodwind in ‘On The Run’ or the strings of ‘When You’re Sleeping’, they merely give a different flavour to the backing, while it’s Natalie’s performance that provides the emotional, compelling core of the album.
For all her glamour, Natalie has a busker’s heart and she’s produced a polished album packed with unpretentious and direct acoustic pop songs.

101cd.com

Natalie Imbruglia makes a welcome return to the world of music when she releases her eagerly anticipated 3rd album ‘Counting Down The Day’s’ on April 4th. Natalie began initial work on ‘Counting Down The Days’ in 2002. She assembled enough material for several albums and spent most of last year refining her ideas and identifying the direction she wanted to take the album in. “The process is always very organic,” Natalie said. “With me, it’s always about feeling genuinely comfortable with the music I am working on as well as the people and producers around me. On ‘Counting Down The Days’ I worked with some amazing people.”
Natalie’s last album, ‘White lilies Island’, featuring the singles, ‘That Day’ and ‘Wrong Impression’ was released in November 2001 and followed the massive worldwide success of 1998’s ‘Left of the Middle’ album and the phenomenally successful single, ‘Torn’. Natalie has sold over 7 million albums worldwide. RECOMMENDED.

entertainment.ie

Natalie Imbruglia's pop career got off to a flying start with the smash-hit single 'Torn', still a staple of daytime radio. That was seven years ago, though, and since then she's become as famous for taking part in L'Oreal skincare ads as she has for her music. Perhaps conscious of this, the ex-Neighbours actress's third album is easily her most substantial and considered to date. Predictably, there's a slew of bright and breezy indie-pop songs that are obviously trying to repeat the 'Torn' formula. But the real heart of the record lies in its more downbeat tracks, which highlight a far greater depth in both Imbruglia's singing and her lyrics. Behind the perfect facade she emerges as the mixed-up girl next door who can't understand why guys always let her down. There's nothing particularly earth-shattering about Counting Down the Days - but it's still a solid, enjoyable album that deserves to get her career back on track.