Corporate Line: The timeless and the cutting-edge comprise essential components of the energetic mélange that has made Furtado one of pop music’s premier artists. This mix emerges with an explosive new simplicity and breadth on Folklore. The album is Furtado’s follow-up to her multiplatinum debut, Whoa, Nelly! It shows just how variously and hard the stuff of folklore – as Nelly Furtado images it – can kick.
“This is the folklore of my mind,” Furtado says. “The word often conjures up something old, but I’m kind of flipping its usual understanding. Folklore is something magical and mystical. I like that. But more than that, I think of it as a belief in origin. It’s people’s stories, basically. Everybody everywhere has his or her own folklore. It can be light; it can be dark. And it doesn’t always have to come from the past. The historical part is not the point. Gossip about a celebrity? That’s modern folklore. The story of Ozzy Osbourne biting the head off a bat? That’s folklore as well.”
The Good:
“Try” – This fits Furtado well. She wears the song on her sleeve and you have the feeling she is putting everything into her work.
“Forca” – Great beat and gorgeous chorus.
“Build You Up” – If you don’t wait long enough you’ll miss this gem of a ballad.
The Average:
“The Grass is Greener” – Sounds much like any other pop song we’d get on top 40 which means it doesn’t stand out.
“One-trick Pony” – Furtado goes for a new sound that seems lost more than found. This country-pop sound doesn’t fit her voice or attitude.
“Powerless” – The first single appears to be influenced by Alanis without the off-the-chart vocal prowess.
“Picture Perfect” – The background vocals are annoying at best. Nelly laughs during the middle of the song and it sounds like a take from a B-side. It’s funny once – the joke doesn’t last.
The Ugly:
“Explode” – Getting drunk in a K-Mart parking lot and dropping acid doesn’t inspire me to think or feel anything. I’m sure someone is exploding or imploding somewhere but from the mouth of this babe I don’t care.
“Fresh of the Boat” – Good grief. Horrible.
Frankly: Nelly Furtado took a turn in a new direction whether it was a good choice or not – the jury is still out. Just because you try to be diverse doesn’t always equate being good or artistic. Every culture has bad music and if you are going to attempt to mix other cultural music with yours then it better be damn good. If Furtado gives us another album as mixed up as this one she might prove to be just a one-trick pony.
+ Rae Gun
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