Remi Nicole - My Conscience And I

Written by Tom Swann | Sunday, December 16, 2007 |

‘One day I was in an office job and the next I was doing what I didn’t know I loved’, sings Remi Nicole, the latest addition to the ( quickly tiring) ‘mockney’ scene, as she begins to tell us of the dead end jobs, ‘dates from hell’ and racial stereo typing that make-up most of the subject matter of this, her debut album.

The Oasis super-fan has gone about creating an album which tries to combine the rawness of her early acoustic solo performances and the highly polished sound of all the none-too-exceptional pop records filling up the shelves of your local record store. Unfortunately, the balance is an unhappy one.

Songs like ‘Rock’n’Roll’ aren’t quite as rock’n’roll as they could be and the acoustic ‘Fed Up’ has lost some of the edge and pureness it possessed on earlier recordings.

Yet there’s something about the way the first couple of songs introduce the album and some-up Remi’s life for us so far - somehow endearing her to us - that make you want to listen on, regardless. With the lively ‘Go With The Flow’, we’re told of how Remi finds escape from her dead end job by gaining success in the music industry, which flows nicely into the second song - rock’n’roll (in which she tells us of how she has to break down the stereo type of black people only ‘bopping to hip-hop’). While later songs like ‘Lights Out’ (a beautifully delicate pop anthem which is one of the few songs to work in harmony with the production on this album) and ‘Go Mr Sunshine’ (a glorious depiction of what summer-time means to modern England), show there’s real potential here.

If there’s one fundamental flaw in this album, it has to be the shortage of well worded or cleverly devised lyrics. Many people have tried to tell the tale of every day life from there own perspective of late, whether it be the Arctic Monkeys or Connor Oberst on Bright Eyes most recent record, but what sets the best apart from the rest is the clever lyrical twists that the public can both love and admire - a chorus of ‘Na Nighty’ on the fifth track of this record shows that Remi isn’t quite at the same level yet. Although, on this promising offering, one can hardly doubt that Remi will be back.

Remi Nicole Myspace

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