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Dominique
Durand - from the band "IVY"
Ivy are
a lo-fi gem from New York who have slipped almost unnoticed
into the top ten of favourite background music for tv shows
and movies.
"Worry About You" is an outstanding offering from the band's
album "Long Distance", and surpasses even much of their probable
influences such as Portishead etc. Ivy make it into this listing
on that one track alone. In fact "Worry About You"
became the theme music to the TV Mini series "Kingdom Hospital".
But what gives Ivy a place on the top of the Dreambeat Essentials
is Paris born singer Dominique Durand ... An ultimate dream-voice
laced with pure pop melancholy. Simple, sultry - radiating natural,
liquid-emotion. Classy, without sounding over-trained or contrived
… Anna Karina, Francoise Hardy, Stereolab and a touch of St
Etienne instantly spring to mind.
The band
Ivy are a threesome; Dominique Durand, and two guys who, according
to the sleeve notes seem to hold the reigns tightly over almost
every button and fader in the studio. In some cases of techno-
musos producing female front-singers can work well, but listen
through an entire Ivy album and it's easy to recognize an uncomfortable
disparity of musical directions.
Apart from the aforementioned "Worry About You" and the excellent
"Undertow", a lot of Long Distance is otherwise mottled with
disappointingly awkward production and song structures stitched
together with clichéd or dated arrangements. While some sample
grooves, loops and arrangements sit well, other drum parts and
instrumentation sound hackneyed and uninspiring.
The mix on much of Long Distance doesn't sit right - with Durand's
voice level mixed too quite in some tracks so the engineering
and production department of Ivy don't provide the consistent,
enigmatic canvas necessary to underscore a perfect marriage
between production and their singer. But on the occasions when
Ivy converges with the right chemistry, the songs flow blissfully
and silk-like … soaring into a natural high of the dreambeat
sphere.
The conclusion
is that Dominique Durand undoubtedly has the voice and persona
to make almost anything sound cool, cute and listenable … and
so the album both shines in its vocal splendor, but musically
pivots toward disappointment all at the same time.
It's too easy to imagine that without Durand, Ivy might still
be just another half-listened demo tape collecting dust on a
shelf in record company's A&R dept.
For Durand herself, there may be a case for her to explore future
alternatives someday, which could truly illuminate her natural
musical output - perhaps refining her potential as a princess
of the sublime, lo-fi lounge. This may transpire amongst more
intuitively based collaborations - or even as a solo artist
(a few tracks on Long Distance sound like she had more of a
hand in the songwriting than others … and those give out a more
original vibe).
Until then, Ivy continues to be a reasonably successful vehicle
for her - And apart from criticism of the production etc, their
albums are worth every penny, mostly based on Dominique Durand's
unique vocal contribution.
Buy the
Ivy CD "Long Distance" (released 2001) below
Purchase
through Amazon
Long
Distance by Ivy USA
CD
Long
Distance by Ivy UK CD
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