Melody Gardot
The Absence
Release Date: May 29, 2012
Genre(s): Jazz, Vocal, Pop/Rock, International, Vocal Pop, Vocal Jazz, Bossa Nova, Brazilian Traditions
Record label: Decca
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy The Absence from Amazon
Album Review: The Absence by Melody Gardot
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
If Melody Gardot's 2009 sophomore effort, My One and Only Thrill, sustained the sultry, atmospheric vibe of her critically acclaimed 2006 debut, her 2012 follow-up, The Absence, is a bit of a creative departure for the vocalist. Apparently inspired by her world travels, and specifically by a trip that brought her to the desert around the city of Marrakech, the album moves her away from smoky, small-group jazz and into a bright, if still bedroom-eyed, rhythmically exotic sound. Produced by guitarist/composer Heitor Pereira, the album is a lush, somewhat orchestral album that finds Gardot delving into various Brazilian, Spanish, and African-influenced sounds -- including bits of samba, tango, bossa nova, and calypso -- that evince her global journey.
Opinion: Excellent
TRAVIS PORTER “From Day 1” (Porter House/RCA) There’s beauty in diversity, sure, but there can be beauty in single-mindedness too. Over the last few years the three men of the Atlanta hip-hop group Travis Porter — Quez, Ali and Strap — have become auteurs of the strip club, making buoyant, electrifying soundtrack music for late nights full of tossed-in-the-air dollar bills. What Too Short was to 1980s corner walkers, this group is to the modern-day pole dancer.
'The Absence'
is available now