Spring Break
'Gold' lacks luster
Stephanie Samsel
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Features
Fans of light and poppy British singer-songwriters with synthesized instruments will surely enjoy Mikal Blue's debut album, "Gold."
It is hard to say which demographic will really enjoy Blue's album, but fans of Five for Fighting, Augustana and Gary Jules may like this album because Blue was a producer for the aforementioned bands.
However, it does seem as though Blue would fit into a wide spectrum of listeners, spanning pop music to alternative.
The CD cover portrays Blue as being a brooding and intense artist, but after the first track it is evident that Blue is far from that.
Blue has a very pleasing and slightly young and innocent sounding voice, which makes the songs about even the most depressing topics seem bright and positive. For instance, the song "Never Gonna Say" is about reflection on the end of a relationship, but the song doesn't leave the listener sad, but rather a little refreshed.
The optimistic tone of Mikal Blue lasts for the entire CD, with not many of the songs sounding too different from the others. His cheery and refreshing voice is part of the reason why there is not much difference between songs, and even the instrumentals and synthesized instruments sound very similar throughout the CD.
The only time that Blue breaks his cheery boy sound is in the song "Already Lost You," where it seems he is trying to seem tough and cool by sounding a lot like Billy Idol. Other than that, there isn't anything that is too unique about Blue's voice.
The lyrics themselves are ones that seem familiar, because they have probably been sung a million times in varying ways.
It can be said that the music sounds like it has been done before because Blue draws from a lot of familiar sounding styles. This leads to variety in a few of the songs, which is refreshing because so many of them sound like they could be the same song. Blue draws a lot of inspiration from the Beatles, and this shows up quite a bit in this album. The two songs that have parts that sound similar to the Beatles are "Gold" and "Pepper," because segments of these two songs are reminiscent of "Strawberry Fields Forever." Other ways that Blue mixes some of the songs up is by using orchestral instruments and piano in some songs, like "Heaven" and "Pepper."
The one thing that detracts from most of the songs on the CD is the fact that the album would have sounded great with basic instruments and had no added synthesized instruments or effects.
A somewhat simpler approach to the music may have made Blue's lyrics stand out more, and maybe have forced him to open up his vocal range, because he seems to stay with one flat tone throughout the album, with a few exceptions.
"Gold" will be enjoyable for those who want a poppy and optimistic sound with a likeable enough sounding singer.
Stephanie Samsel can be reached at ssamsel@statehornet.com
It is hard to say which demographic will really enjoy Blue's album, but fans of Five for Fighting, Augustana and Gary Jules may like this album because Blue was a producer for the aforementioned bands.
However, it does seem as though Blue would fit into a wide spectrum of listeners, spanning pop music to alternative.
The CD cover portrays Blue as being a brooding and intense artist, but after the first track it is evident that Blue is far from that.
Blue has a very pleasing and slightly young and innocent sounding voice, which makes the songs about even the most depressing topics seem bright and positive. For instance, the song "Never Gonna Say" is about reflection on the end of a relationship, but the song doesn't leave the listener sad, but rather a little refreshed.
The optimistic tone of Mikal Blue lasts for the entire CD, with not many of the songs sounding too different from the others. His cheery and refreshing voice is part of the reason why there is not much difference between songs, and even the instrumentals and synthesized instruments sound very similar throughout the CD.
The only time that Blue breaks his cheery boy sound is in the song "Already Lost You," where it seems he is trying to seem tough and cool by sounding a lot like Billy Idol. Other than that, there isn't anything that is too unique about Blue's voice.
The lyrics themselves are ones that seem familiar, because they have probably been sung a million times in varying ways.
It can be said that the music sounds like it has been done before because Blue draws from a lot of familiar sounding styles. This leads to variety in a few of the songs, which is refreshing because so many of them sound like they could be the same song. Blue draws a lot of inspiration from the Beatles, and this shows up quite a bit in this album. The two songs that have parts that sound similar to the Beatles are "Gold" and "Pepper," because segments of these two songs are reminiscent of "Strawberry Fields Forever." Other ways that Blue mixes some of the songs up is by using orchestral instruments and piano in some songs, like "Heaven" and "Pepper."
The one thing that detracts from most of the songs on the CD is the fact that the album would have sounded great with basic instruments and had no added synthesized instruments or effects.
A somewhat simpler approach to the music may have made Blue's lyrics stand out more, and maybe have forced him to open up his vocal range, because he seems to stay with one flat tone throughout the album, with a few exceptions.
"Gold" will be enjoyable for those who want a poppy and optimistic sound with a likeable enough sounding singer.
Stephanie Samsel can be reached at ssamsel@statehornet.com
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