Album Details

• Artist: Ingrid Michaelson
• Album: Human Again
• Label: Cabin 24/Mom+Pop
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: carlita on 2012-04-23

Media

In case you didn't get the memo on Ingrid Michaelson's fifth and latest offering "Human Again", it is clear she's eager to get into the listener's subconscious and shed the" quirky girl with the librarian glasses who plays the whimsical ukulele" image of yesteryear.  I happened to connect with that girl on 2007's "Girls and Boys" and 2008's "Be OK" who simply yet poignantly voiced the joys and sorrows of women in young adulthood falling in and out of love. With this new change in direction, I wasn't sure if I was ready to let go and embrace this touted new phase of music.

It's evident off the bat there seemed to be an intention to have just as many uptempo songs as there were slow ones on the album. The first three tracks didn't really grab me, seemed out of place and the need to be pop and catchy, overwhelmed the vocals that make Ingrid great until I hit "I'm Through" which had violin, piano and Ingrid's trademark evocative style. She shines on the tracks that highlight her voice such as "Ghost" which would have fit perfectly on Sarah Maclachlan's "Mirrorball", "In the Sea", "Black and Blue" and "End of the World".

The heartbroken person who will put you on blast for her pain, with lyrics like "I'll always know you were the one to rip me from the ground", "wrapped up in ribbons and left me to die" and "do you remember the sound the door made when you closed it on me?",is still there. Aiming to "cross boundaries" or not (got maturity, yes, but crossing boundaries, no) with 80's Devo "Whip It" or The Go-Go's "We Got The Beat" style drums, heart-wrenching breakups and the comforting solace of finding your latest soulmate are still on the menu. This will please the diehards but may lose some of the VH-1 crowd who adored the clown-loving indie star years earlier. For fans who have always loved her off-kilter vulnerability that would lay a "heart on the bathroom rug", you'll most likely find what you've come to know.

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