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Emilíana Torrini's cute, candid words can be heard in the songs off Kylie Minogue's Body Language (of which she co-wrote a number of hit singles) and her ardent, feverish voice can be witnessed in the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (where she sang the melancholic track "Gollum's Song").
And if such triumphant corroborations weren't enough to emit a strong sense of respect for such an ardent talent, pairing up with Roland Orzabal (half of '80s favorite Tears for Fears) really set Emiliana Torrini on the right track.
After a smashing success with the release of 1999's Love in the Time of Science (co-produced by Orzabal), this kaleidoscopic painter of intricate soundscapes bumped things up a notch (or maybe smoothed things out a bit) in 2005's Fisherman's Woman.
Lovely almost seems like too little of a word to describe such beautifully well-made music, but at the same time, it seems like the perfect word. So, the unequivocal response to the question "What is Fisherman's Woman?": Simply lovely.
Just as the morning after a frightfully wicked storm is delightfully pleasant and the freeing feeling of losing a well-played game is lovely, Torrini's 2005 album describes the attractive aspect of letting go and seeing the bright spot in the darkness.
It's about waking up, seeing the mess made by the storm and letting out a little sigh of relief that it is finally over and the sun has returned. It's about grudgingly shaking hands with members of the winning team and later smiling to yourself, in light of the full knowledge you played like a world-class athlete. It's about knowing that the fire is out in a familiarly comfortable relationship and possessing the willpower to not try to rekindle it. And in the end, knowing that lacking the need to light another match was the absolute best move to make.
From the actual creaking of boards at the bottom of a boat in Lifesaver to the emotional missing of a man at sea in the title track Fisherman's Woman , the intimate Icelander uses delicate harmonies and evocative composition to paint detailed pictures of woeful love and loss.
The pleadingly acquiescent perspective heard in songs like Sunny Road sent this exquisitely sensitive soprano home with three Icelandic Music Awards in 2006 (Pop Album of the Year, Singer of the Year and Video of the Year -- for "Sunny Road").
But the album really picks up with (my personal favorite) Heartstopper . While this track maintains the softly spoken, listless realities of the rest of the album, it contains a pepped-up lift that truly exemplifies the secret smile that shows itself after releasing someone (or something) else and getting a grasp of yourself.
Additional Tracks:
Nothing Brings Me Down
Today Has Been OK
Buy Fisherman's Woman for $5.62
