Arielle - Reel To Real
That American singer-songwriter guitarist Arielle is a retro kinda gal is underlined by the title (and songs within) of her 2021 album Analog Girl in a Digital World and 2022’s follow-up '73, a specific year in an era you feel Miss Arielle would have revelled in (the album itself was a mix of Arielle’s brand of Americana-tinged rock, breezy melodic pop and downtempo balladeering).
That said she is also doing pretty well, thank you very much, in the present musical day, as well as being pretty handy with a guitar (the fact she is endorsed by/ plays a Brian May signature 'BMG Arielle' guitar as part of her six string arsenal testifies to that).
As the title of her latest album hints at, Reel to Real (recorded at The Bomb Shelter analog studio in Nashville on, naturally, 16-track, 2" tape) follows the retro vibe of both AGiaDW and '73 but goes back a little further, with a discernible 60s vibe attached to many of the tracks.
Reel to Real also follows the AGiaDW format of being a mini-album, sitting at just under half an hour ('73 was the more regular 12 songs 45 minutes deal); the results are eight mixed & matched song stylings with less is more appeal.
Opener 'Back To Being Bad' (which kicks off with a rhythm and riff that would make you swear it’s going to morph into Queen's 'Dragon Attack') is a groovy, sass-rock number complete with organ stabs, big backing vocals on the chorus and a blues-tasty solo (the interjected guitar licks towards song’s end also work well.)
Contrast is then provided by the breezy and downtempo 'Mirror Of Life,' a song with a 70s soul and an equally soulful vibe.
'Bell-Bottoms & Bel Air’s,' the first of two instrumentals, is a fun and slightly funky rhythm and blues with yep, you guessed it, a late 60s/ early 70s music bar appeal.
The two-and-a-half-minute 'Stray Dog' is whimsical, piano backed pop that recalls the Beatles 'Your Mother Should Know,' albeit second musical cousin twice removed (spookily they are also the same song length).
'Lava Lamp Love,' which is even shorter, sounds exactly as you would expect a tune of that title to sound; woozy and rhythmic, with decidedly eastern shimmers on the guitar.
'Love For Yourself' is a mid-tempo based on a simple rhythm sprinkled with delicate guitar remarks.
It also carries the soulful tendencies of 'Mirror Of Life,' but here shaped as a song you can easily imagine early Stevie Nicks laying down.
As with '73, which sported a lovely rendition of David Gates' timeless ballad 'If,' Reel to Real also features a cover – a nifty, choppy-versed, blues-rockin' take of the Nancy Sinatra hit, 'These Boots are Made For Walkin'.'
Closing out with the western meets eastern/ Indo Asian influenced 'MoonChild,' where guitars/ sitar and hand drums play out as an atmospheric backdrop to Arielle’s at times ethereal vocals, Reel to Real is also the real (and analog reel) deal from the "nineties child with a sixties and seventies soul."
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
That said she is also doing pretty well, thank you very much, in the present musical day, as well as being pretty handy with a guitar (the fact she is endorsed by/ plays a Brian May signature 'BMG Arielle' guitar as part of her six string arsenal testifies to that).
As the title of her latest album hints at, Reel to Real (recorded at The Bomb Shelter analog studio in Nashville on, naturally, 16-track, 2" tape) follows the retro vibe of both AGiaDW and '73 but goes back a little further, with a discernible 60s vibe attached to many of the tracks.
Reel to Real also follows the AGiaDW format of being a mini-album, sitting at just under half an hour ('73 was the more regular 12 songs 45 minutes deal); the results are eight mixed & matched song stylings with less is more appeal.
Opener 'Back To Being Bad' (which kicks off with a rhythm and riff that would make you swear it’s going to morph into Queen's 'Dragon Attack') is a groovy, sass-rock number complete with organ stabs, big backing vocals on the chorus and a blues-tasty solo (the interjected guitar licks towards song’s end also work well.)
Contrast is then provided by the breezy and downtempo 'Mirror Of Life,' a song with a 70s soul and an equally soulful vibe.
'Bell-Bottoms & Bel Air’s,' the first of two instrumentals, is a fun and slightly funky rhythm and blues with yep, you guessed it, a late 60s/ early 70s music bar appeal.
The two-and-a-half-minute 'Stray Dog' is whimsical, piano backed pop that recalls the Beatles 'Your Mother Should Know,' albeit second musical cousin twice removed (spookily they are also the same song length).
'Lava Lamp Love,' which is even shorter, sounds exactly as you would expect a tune of that title to sound; woozy and rhythmic, with decidedly eastern shimmers on the guitar.
'Love For Yourself' is a mid-tempo based on a simple rhythm sprinkled with delicate guitar remarks.
It also carries the soulful tendencies of 'Mirror Of Life,' but here shaped as a song you can easily imagine early Stevie Nicks laying down.
As with '73, which sported a lovely rendition of David Gates' timeless ballad 'If,' Reel to Real also features a cover – a nifty, choppy-versed, blues-rockin' take of the Nancy Sinatra hit, 'These Boots are Made For Walkin'.'
Closing out with the western meets eastern/ Indo Asian influenced 'MoonChild,' where guitars/ sitar and hand drums play out as an atmospheric backdrop to Arielle’s at times ethereal vocals, Reel to Real is also the real (and analog reel) deal from the "nineties child with a sixties and seventies soul."
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ