reviews > Left Of The Middle

pause magazine

Reading through the lyrics in the liner that accompanies Natalie Imbruglia's debut album, you might come to the conclusion that she's a sad, or at least melancholy person.  But pop the CD into the player and you immediately realize that the words are powered by a voice, music and arrangements that tell a different story. This is not a disc full of grueling sadness by a helpless waif, but rather an energetic, thoughtful collection that has the strength and confidence of somebody who's been on the scene for more than just a few months.  Natalie's voice, sweet at times, edgy at others, is always right up front and real.Left of the Middle was released in Europe last November, and on March 10th here in the U.S. If you're like most people in the states, you first heard of her when the bittersweet, catchy sounds of "Torn", the album's first single, hit you from the airwaves (UK and Australian folk previously knew Imbruglia as Beth from the Aussie soap "Neighbors").Now 23, Natalie has traded in scripts and studio cameras for engaging lyrics and a microphone, and I for one am glad she did. Of the twelve tracks on the CD, "Torn" is one of only two that Natalie did not have a hand in writing.  Phil Thornalley, most well-known as bassist and producer for The Cure, co-wrote the song with Scott Cutler & Annie Previn of Ednaswap.  He also co-wrote and produced most of Left of the Middle. And while "Torn" was a great introduction to Natalie's singing talents, she shines on the rest of the album. A couple of themes stand out:  The requisite victim of love stuff, such as "Torn", "One More Addiction" and "Big Mistake", run the gamut of emotions any of us have felt in less-than-perfect relationships.   "Torn" is, of course, sad and innocent, while "One More Addiction" is feisty and "Big Mistake" is a bit more angry. Then there are the tunes about being overwhelemed and underimpressed with life and the people who never really get past the superficial things life has to offer.  "Leave Me Alone", with it's haunting melody and "City", a much more frustrated look at life in metropolis, are two such tracks.  The two songs are wildly different, but both entirely satisfying.  "Impressed", about people who are together for all the wrong reasons, also falls into this category. Probably my favorite tracks are "Don't You Think?" and "Intuition".  Both are powerful, energy-driven pieces. "Don't You Think?" is another song about people who never give anything beyond themselves and how they look & fit in any thought.  "There's more important things / than making sure your watch looks just right / and second-hand opinions / don't make you look any smarter / Don't you think...that maybe it's time...time you started thinking" "Intuition" is a fun, folky diddy with an acute sense of humor.  The subject?  Ignoring all the people who think they know what's best for you and instead acting on, well, intuition.  "Everybody's been in my face / tellin' me I gotta make a change / All I ever hear day and night is 'you better hurry up and get a life' / I need some direction 'cause the clock is tickin' away" And yes, there are a couple of tortured tunes, such as "Smoke":  "Why bleeding is breathing / you're hiding, underneath the smoke in the room / try, bleeding is believing / I used to". You could probably draw a bunch of parallels between the various styles exhibited on Left of the Middle and songs by some of the other female singer/songwriters who are hot today, but why bother?  One of the great aspects of the CD is that the songs have an uncommonly broad appeal - in other words, you don't have to be an angry white chick to appreciate it. Imbruglia's debut CD is as listenable as Natalie herself is beautiful, and it paves the way for what will hopefully be a long succession of equally strong pop-folky-rock titles.

 amazon.co.uk

A cross between Alanis Morissette and Kylie Minogue, you couldn't engineer a more likely late 1990s pop star than Natalie Imbrugila if you tried. Blessed with a stunning bone structure and a passable voice, Australian soap star Imbruglia and producer Phil Thornally turned Ednaswap's gritty "Torn" into a swirling pop confection. Nothing else on her debut quite matches it, in part because Left of the Middle sticks closer to the centre than it cares to admit. Imbruglia manages to touch on a wide range of female styles--angry ("One More Addiction"), electronica ("Big Mistake") and yearning ("Smoke")--without leaving her fingerprints on any of them.