Album Name: Blue Satin Alley
Artist: Abigail Hopkins
Year/Label: 2007 / Independent
Review by Amy Lotsberg Producer of Collected Sounds
I love Abigail Hopkins’ sound. It’s very theatrical and dramatic and is reminiscent of Jill Tracy and ever so slightly of Marlene Dietrich also. The instrumentation on I Can Sigh is almost messy toward the end, but exciting too.
Butterfly is loud and scary and wonderful. It’s a great opener.
The title track, Blue Satin Alley, is lush, gorgeous, emotional, gritty and fantastic.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that she sounds a titch like PJ Harvey. More so in overall feel rather than vocally. The similarity is most prominent on Reminds Me of You but is there throughout. I like how they use background vocals to add an air of spookiness.
This is definitely a record with a specific feeling and one that might not suit everyone (but then again, what record does?) But I happen to love it. I know it will be one that I will continue to discover over and over again for eons. It’s complex, beautiful and needs a lot of ear time.
Posted on November 15, 2007
Track Listing
Listen to track samples while you read
1 Butterfly
2 Sublime
3 I’ll Be Waiting For You by the Bus Stand
4 In From the Sea
5 Hailstones
6 Ghost Soldier
7 Crow Wire
8 Harold’s Bees
9 I Can Sigh
10 Reminds Me of You
11 Blue Satin Alley
12 Metamorph
[Abigail Hopkins Official Site]
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