Album Review: Natalie Imbruglia – Male
2 min read
Natalie Imbruglia is a woman of many talents, most notably for pop music from the late 90s with her timeless hit Torn from her 1997 debut album Left Of The Middle; single Shiver was also a number one hit for the star in 2005. She is no stranger to the stage or screen, having played Beth Brennan on hit TV show Neighbours and featured more recently on the stage show Things We Do For Love. Imbruglia is back on the music scene with her latest album Male, a collection of covers originally sung by male artists, it’ll be interesting to hear her twist on these tracks.
One of the most notable takes is Instant Crush by Daft Punk, but don’t go expecting any synths or auto-tuned work, Natalie trills over an arrangement of very real instruments and breathes life into the track. You can expect luscious arrangements on this compilation, Josh Pyke’s The Summer gets some special treatment. Even The Cure gets a makeover, Friday I’m In Love is the pace you have been looking for if you were growing weary of the slow jams. The simplistic take on Neil Young’s Only Love Can Break Your Heart allows you to take in the intimacy and caress that has gone into the production of this album, thanks to producer Billy Mann. Natalie’s cover of Cat Stevens’ The Wind brings the album to a poetic and light hearted close.
Natalie Imbruglia is as captivating as ever, releasing a covers album of songs from a variety of her favourite Male artists really takes the cake. A handful of these songs were more upbeat to begin with, to be able to take them away and turn them into something new and almost unexpected made for a wonderful listening experience, it really opened you up to Imbruglia’s talent just that little bit more. If you’re up for something light hearted to enjoy with a glass of wine, give Male a spin.
