Fliss Peck: Two worlds, two distinct atmospheres of music. One amazing voice.
It would be fairly simple to leave it at that; after all, you don’t need me to tell you that less is often more. Fliss knows this, and my word does it work for her music. This incredibly talented songstress is at her absolute best when her music goes right back to basics: focussing on her voice, her message, and keeping everything else with a nice subtle groove to help that message along. Luckily, this is true of the large majority of her work.
The first track I listened to was ‘Weekend Girl’, which pretty much told me everything I needed to know of Fliss’ modus operandi. That voice; haunting and beguiling, yet with power on tap when called for. The backing guitar offering a nice level of momentum and groove without interfering with the point of the song. Beautiful harmonies and actual countermelodies as well. My only slight criticism might be that the level of reverb and the overly echo-y effect on this one seems a little too over pronounced, but the idea of the music being hollow does work quite well with the lyrical content.
Next up was ‘Rollercoaster’. Following a similar acoustic vibe as the last one, I liked this one a lot. The harmonies work so well and bring you right into that ridiculously memorable and cheery chorus hook. That also works really well, the juxtaposition between the lyrics being about everything up and down, yet the music stays very upbeat and cheery throughout. This allows Fliss to really shine through with a voice that is full of warmth. The song finishes with a shift up through the keys to an even more cheery point, and even if it is a little contrived, it works brilliantly in the mood of the song. X-Factor, please take note, this is how you change keys! And yes, the guitar accompaniment is fairly simplistic, but it works, and with the sheer amount of cheery foot tapping it makes you do, I don’t think you’ll mind too much!
Suddenly, for the third track, everything changes. ‘Don’t Look Back’ is possibly my favourite Fliss Peck track, simply because it has so much soul and is totally moody all at the same time. This is the first track I’d heard with a full band accompaniment, and everything slots together nicely, with some deft arranging choices. And yet, it still has an air of mellow, chilled-out groove about it that is very awesome. Looking at her MySpace bio, Fliss states Fleetwood Mac as an influence, and here you can really start to hear it in her voice.
The next track ‘Why’ brings us back to the acoustic side of mellowed. Much like all the other tracks, the focus is the voice and showcasing Fliss’ pure vocal talent. This track begins to show us a little more of her wide range her voice has not only in pitching notes but also in how much power it has. My only concern is that throughout these tracks so far, we don’t really hear much of a dynamic or emotional range. This isn’t a major drawback; it may simply be that the tracks don’t require anything like that.
I will admit that I have much more of Fliss to listen to. I’m currently listening to Otherside of Me as I write this one, and I’ve had it on repeat for the last 20 minutes or so. It works so well, with brilliant vocals, great harmonies, an excellent accompaniment with some lovely violin thrown in, and excellent acoustic guitar solo. I could go on, but less really is more. Other tracks you should definitely check out include ‘Illusion’ and ‘Falling For You.’
In summary, I’m psyched to have discovered Fliss Peck, and am hoping to hear a lot more of her in the future. Not only does she have a fantastic voice, she can write some incredibly tasty melodies too, working brilliantly between a small scale acoustic atmosphere to a more traditional ensemble atmosphere. Two worlds, one amazing voice. Enough said.
Review by Paul Barnes
Contact Fliss Peck!
No comments:
Post a Comment