Maria Mena - Apparently Unaffected *

Artist:

Mena, Maria

UPC:

828767586922

Description:

Hailing from Norway, singer Maria Mena found herself with some surprisingly high success at only 15 years old, a pop prodigy incorporating adult levels of emotion into her songwriting early, and backing it up with a soulful vocal that carries the right pieces to make the sound whole. On Apparently Unaffected, her third album builds strongly upon her previous efforts. While there are a few fairly standardized pop tracks (the bouncing but lyrically flat "Boytoy Baby"), the bulk of the album uses well-constructed arrangements set around the strong but intentionally unmanipulated vocals of Mena. The pieces pack an emotional punch through her delivery as much as through the lyrics. There`s longing here, and passion, and a guarded vulnerability. Mena has a slight warble to much of her phrasing, a touch that makes some of the passages sound as though pried from an emotional outburst. For the most part, though, this makes for a nice addition to fairly moving tracks. It can be a bit much over the course of the album as a whole, but on any individual track, the sound is entirely refreshing, something worth hearing anew now and then. She`s still breaking into the American markets, having captured much of the European scene already, but Mena, and most of Apparently Unaffected, are worth seeking out. ~ Adam Greenberg

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Internal Dialogue
2. This Bottle of Wine
3. Miss You Love
4. Boytoy Baby
5. If You`ll Stay in My Past Pt 1
6. He`s Hurting Me
7. Just Hold Me
8. Long Time Coming
9. If You`ll Stay in My Past Pt 2
10. Nevermind Me
11. These Shoes
12. Our Battles
13. Calm Under the Waves
14. If You`ll Stay in My Past Pt 3

Album Information

Release Date:

07/10/2006

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Rock & Pop

Label:

BMG (distributor)

Catalog Number:

82876758692

Original Release Year:

2006

# of Discs:

1

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

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