- Label: 'El Segell Del Primavera'
- Genre: 'Pop'
- Release Date: '4th May 2015'
Our Rating:
Núria Graham announced herself to the world through a self-released demo of seven songs appropriately called 'First Tracks' at the age of just 17.
One year on comes a debut album on an 'official' label where at one point she asks (on An Exception) "What do you expect from a girl who is just eighteen?".
The question is a provocative one and woe betide those who fail to take this talented young artist seriously. Despite the tenderness of her years, these ten tracks (plus a 'hidden' extra) are remarkably assured and worldly.
Graham is from Vic in central Catalonia yet sings entirely in English without a trace of a Spanish accent. Practically the only indication that she is not using her mother tongue is the unconvincing pronunciation of 'fuck' on Bad Luck. This is a minor quibble, especially as there are no other swear words on the record!
The charm of her songs comes from the manner in which she presents herself as vulnerable one moment and as a fledgling femme fatale the next. On Dark Past, she warns off a prospective lover: "Everybody's got a dark past, but mine is just about to start".
She comes across as a woman who knows what she wants and the "let's keep this simple" refrain on The Sea In Your Eyes neatly encapsulates her musical philosophy.
These are songs written on piano or guitar which would be stifled by big productions. Thankfully, therefore, the arrangements are unfussy with the woozy, distorted intro to I Worry Too Much being the only obvious example of studio trickery.
Lyrically there are plenty of references to waking and sleeping so it is apt that the hidden track , Goodbye, should have so much in common with The Smiths' Asleep. However, the break-up songs (Christopher is another) are tender laments rather than excuses for anger, bitterness or suicidal tendencies. Her message seems to be that since life's pleasures are fleeting you need to stay wide awake and remain full of optimism.
While not afraid to get personal, Núria Graham displays such a wholesome level-headedness that the songs never hint at doom or gloom.
