Michele Ari
Mal A’ Propos EP
No catalogue number
Released: 2009
How would a man on this side of the pond know what a woman in Nashville is thinking about? All you need is the Internet and some mp3s and you too could get to know Michele Ari.
You certainly wouldn't call this lady vacuous or shallow as she turns the spotlight on her soul. Starting off with "6 a.m.", she goes all confessional on the relationships with guys who are most definitely unsuitable cases for treatment. We aren't talking Carly Simon here either as the result seems to be a rather more quixotic approach that leads a woman to take what she can get even the benefits are few and far between. That inevitability of isolation and the perhaps consequent urge for self destruction creeps in again on "Atom Bomb" but "Transatlantic Love Affair" shows there's always hope even in matters of long distance love.
These songs ring true (even if you are a guy and therefore on the wrong side of the fence) and that makes the post punk songs on this EP all the more resonant. With so much faith placed in transitory fame these days, it's a relief to encounter an artist who tells it straight. It's actually difficult to do but Ms Ari neatly avoids the pit of angst and self pity and makes it all real for us. I've never even met her and I already like her.
Bluesbunny
Rating
Michele Ari
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