Liv Kristine
Libertine
Rating
Style: Pop Rock
Release date: 7 September, 2012
Playing time: 41:02
 

At last, a really positive surprise from Norwegian come German Liv Kristine! Shedding the (kitsch) metal field almost entirely, Kristine has begot a full-blown pop rock album which actually works big time.

Moving far beyond the goth genre she helped boost during the 90s, Kristine to me sounds more like Echobelly, one of the few great results of the Brit Pop movement of the mid nineties. A female fronted band, Echobelly stood out with a solid guitar edge and a front woman (Sonya Aurora Madan) with a bitter-sweet voice.

It's exactly that frail bitter-sweetness I think Liv Kristine has managed to purport in perfect fashion this time around. Yes, I prefer the up-beat tracks - Vanilla Skin Delight (by the way a duet with the German Idol winner Tobias Regner - go figure...), Paris Paris and the title track, but the overall song quality is higher than it has been the case with any of Kristine's previous three albums, no doubt about it.

'Libertine' ends with a cover version of the Kate Bush tune The Man with the Child in his Eyes. A brave move, but Kristine does the song justice and for that she deserves much respect!

This is an enjoyable listen, both for sitting back relaxing in your easychair and also if you want to shake your booty on the dance floor (I'll go for the former...).


Tracklist
01. Interlude (intro)
02. Solve Me
03. Silence
04. Vanilla Skin Delight
05. Panic
06. Paris Paris
07. Wait For Rain
08. Love Crime
09. Libertine
10. Meet Me In The Red Sky
11. The Man With A Child In His Eyes
Label: Napalm Records
Distribution: Target (Denmark)
Artwork rating: 60/100
Reviewed by: Thomas Nielsen
Date: 25 August. 2012
Website: www.livkristine.de