ALBUM REVIEW:
Iraina Mancini
COVER PHOTO Dora Paphides
Undo the Blue
9.8/10
RELEASE DATE:
18th August, 2023
PRE-ORDER HERE:
https://needlemythology.tmstor.es/
LABEL:
Needle Mythology
MASTERED BY:
John Webber at AIR Studios
LYRICS:
Iraina Mancini (except Do It (You Stole the Rhythm) (Iraina Mancini and Ed Phillips), and Take a Bow (Iraina Mancini and Ian Barter)
MUSICAL COMPOSITION:
Iraina Mancini, Jagz Kooner, Paul Cousins, Charles Turner, Simon Dine, David Bardon, Oscar Robertson, Ranald MacDonald, Wolfram Brunke, Ian Barter
PRODUCTION:
Jagz Kooner, Oscar Robertson, David Bardon, Jean-Baptiste Pilon, Ian Barter, Erol Alkan (additional)
TRACKLISTING:
SIDE ONE:
Deep End
Cannonball
Sugar High
Undo the Blue
Do It (You Stole the Rhythm)
SIDE TWO:
My Umbrella
Shotgun
What You Doin’ (Featuring Miles Kane & Kitty Liv)
Need Your Love
Take a Bow
_________
I am writing this review….
PHOTO CREDIT: Jason A Miller
on the morning of Thursday, 27th July. In mere hours, we will find out which twelve albums have been selected for consideration for the Mercury Prize. In fact, by the time that this review is online, we will already know the beautiful dozen! I mention this because I think that Iraina Mancini’s debut album, Undo the Blue, is one that should be considered for next year’s Prize – as it has every chance of being shortlisted. I heard the album in digital form before getting a physical copy on vinyl. There is something classic and wonderful when you get the vinyl. Earlier this month, the world said goodbye to the iconic Jane Birkin. A musician and actress that Mancini cites as an influence, you get the feeling that some of Birkin’s effortless and legendary cool seeps through the music of Undo the Blue. It definitely goes into the album artwork and design. James at Schein is responsible for design and art direction. Dora Paphides shot the photos. With an excellent and supportive team at Needle Mythology proudly raving about the album, you know something special is coming into the world on 18th August! The photos of Mancini on the album remind me of Jane Birkin. That same sort of style, seduction and allure shines through and gets into the heart. The colour palette – shades of purple and pink – are perfect. Warm and cool at the same time, you are struck by the tactile wonder and immersive qualities of the physical album! Unlike many albums where you get the credits and track breakdowns in the liner notes, Undo the Blue proudly puts them on the back cover. It is amazing knowing where each track was recorded and who played on it. Who produced and wrote the music. Apologies for any miscrediting above, but with Mancini writing the lyrics (eight solo and two co-writes), she composed alongside some phenomenal people. It is a real treat getting the physical album and admiring its colours, text and photos! It is about time to get down to the business of sharing my thoughts about Iraina Mancini’s debut album. Let’s do some quick housekeeping first. You can follow Iraina Mancini on Twitter, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Having seen her perform live a couple of times – at The Social, and The Lexington in London -, I can attest as to how tight her band is; the amazing chemistry and connection between them. How good she performs live. An extraordinary artist who has incredible stage command and this incredible ability to leave a crowd both spellbound and enraptured after a single song, I would recommend you go and see her live if you can. Undo the Blue is an album that has some studio gloss to it, but it actually comes across like a live album. Something quite intimate and raw through some of the songs. Like you are in the room with Mancini and her band! I love the sequencing of Undo the Blue. Rather than lead-off with one of the newer or more regularly-spun songs such as Cannonball or Undo the Blue, the wonderful Deep End opens proceedings (released as a single back in 2021). I sort of saw the album as a concept piece. Something filmic. There have been videos released of the videos but, if you listen to the stirring and quite epic opening to Deep End, you do think of opening credits. It is almost like a Bond theme. Our heroine says that she always tries to hold back but, invariably, she “always falls off the tracks”. With some standout Farfisa organ playing from Mancini and hornet-buzz and awesome guitar from Charles Turner, Undo the Blue opens with a serious bang. The ‘deep end’ of the song seems to refer to a relationship that is special and addictive - yet it seems to offer up its obstacles and dangers. Maybe some sense of self-regret and reflection: “It's you I adore/Black cherries stains on the floor/I'm over my head/Can't catch my breath/And all of the things that I promised to you/I always managed to undo”. Mancini is brilliant at talking about the relatable and universal…but doing it in a very personal and original way. Her lyrics are so evocative and poetic! Her vocal phrasing and delivery is different on every song. That gives each tracks its own skin and colour scheme – through it is distinctly the sound of Iraina Mancini. With a sound and vibe that places it somewhere in 1970s Italian cinema and some modern-day thriller, it is a wonderful start to an album that offers only solid gems. It was Needle Mythology head Pete Paphides said (of Undo the Blue) that it is an album that has all singles; every track could be a single and succeed. Such is the consistency and brilliance of the songwriting and performances, you cannot argue against that!
I have already reviewed the sublime and unforgettable second track on the album, Cannonball. Suffice to say it is an early highlight. If I had to list my favourite three Iraina Mancini songs, Cannonball would be second – the album’s title track is still at the top of the pile! A musical nod to the whole band, but I am especially fond of Oscar Robertson’s drum work. When I reviewed Cannonball when it came out as a single earlier this year, I noted how there were elements of The Beatles circa. 1966. Before continuing with that train of thought, and keeping with the narrative/film arc, Cannonball seems like having jumped into the relationship and now fully committing. If Deep End was a little nervous and self-reflective in terms of intent and reality, Cannonball is more of an awakening and revelation – “Lost in the floodlights/Hot like a cannonball/Don't let me fall”. The physicality of passion and love shines through already. From the loss and potential disaster of the opening track to the cannonball-hot fall and fly of the sophomore cut, this is one of our finest artists at her very peak. The percussion does remind me of The Beatles’ Rain in addition to And Your Bird Can Sing. That Revolver-period regency where they were untouchable as a band. It is genuine and high kudos to a song that you will revisit time and time again. The sway of the chorus’s start (“So stay true/I’ll be your brand new…”) to the bang and pummel of the end of the chorus (“Don't let me fall/Let me fall/Let me fall!”), it is a magnificent song! Sugar High is a track that Mancini seems to particularly enjoy playing live for eager crowds. A natural stand-out single contender, we are now relaxed into this romance – if we, just for now, continue the story of the film - with this lush and sweeping song. If the first two tracks have a rawness and punch to them, Sugar High has this beautiful and elegant beauty. Like a piece of music one might hear in a French film from the 1970s, Jane Birkin did come to mind when hearing Sugar High. Mancini did say Deep End was influenced by Ye-Ye singers of the'80s, France Gall, and the brilliant Françoise Hardy. I hear some of that influence here too. As a lyricist, there are few who can paint such dream-inducing and smile-widening pictures as Iraina Mancini! A sugar-filled world of deep kisses, sticky fingers, and some candy-rich scents, sensations and colours, this is a sublime song that, like the heroine, lifts you off of your feet – and solidifies Pete Paphides’ claims that Undo the Blue is so good every song could be a single (if I am remembering right, did Mancini say this might be the next single?!).
Three tracks in, and we have already seen our heroine fall wild and doubt her feelings; fall madly for someone very special, now she is enraptured and seduced by this perfect world. Undo the Blue changes directions and adds to the story. Already released as a single, many are familiar with the album’s title track. My favourite single of last year…and my favourite of Mancini’s full stop, I adore this track! Sugar High’s strings came from Clementine Brown. I believe here they come courtesy of Jagz Kooner (one of the album’s producers). Not only are there nods to French and Italian cinema, but I hear elements of the sort of smooth and electric Soul and R&B you’d hear from The Temptations back in the day. Maybe some of the Stax sound with the horns. If this relationship is the same as the one mentioned in Sugar High (or it relates to a former sweetheart), things are more strained and unsure here (“…It burns through the energy/Wade through your mistakes/Oh, I feel it all over/I'll reach up for that remedy”). Again, with such a vibrant, vivid, poetic, beautiful and imaginative set of lyrics backed by one of her lushest and most enticing vocals, you are helpless to resists or question the rush power of Undo the Blue! There is so much detail in the song. From wordless vocal hold and coo to the blend and balance of acoustic guitar and Fender Rhodes, it is a sumptuous and divine offering! The first side ends with the magical Do It (You Stole the Rhythm). A fan favourite that was released as a single back in 2021. Produced by Jagz Kooner, this gorgeous introduction really brings you into the song. So immersive and spine-tingling, Mancini has said about the song “I wrote this about that feeling of pure joy when you are surrounded by people you care about and there is music, sunshine, laughter and great energy. There is almost a magic in the air when all those things are combined, an electricity that makes you feel truly alive. I tried to capture that in this song as I thought now more than ever we are craving togetherness and joy”. What I said about sequencing. This is a perfect way to end the first side! You have this optimistic note to end on. One of two of the ten songs on the album where Mancini shares lyrical duties (the other is Take a Bow), Ed Phillips is credited here.
Whether flipping the vinyl, letting the C.D. run or allowing a streaming platform to transport you to the second side, it is always hard to both keep the quality high, offer some new dynamic and also keep this sense of flow and balance just right. The perfect second side-opening song comes from My Umbrella. Like Deep End, this might be new to some fans. Kudos for not opening the first or second side with the bigger or more recognisable songs. My Umbrella, though, is a diamond that could be another single. Coming into the song, you have this rush and busyness that sort of places you on the street. Like the heroine is on a street in Paris or New York or Rome. In fact, when hearing the vocal and composition, I got nods to Japanese Disco music of the 1970s or'80s– unless I need to clear my ears out, there are some shades of that. Again, with her pen as sharp and genius as ever, Mancini draws you into the tracks and makes you envisage the scene. A track that has a lot of different elements rushing and entwining (like rain, birds and the wind), shout-out to David Bardon and Oscar Robertson!
IN THIS PHOTO: Iraina Mancini deep in thought during a soundcheck/PHOTO CREDIT: Dean Chalkley
With additional production from Erol Alkan, what a treat and brilliant way to pen the second side of the majestic and flawless Undo the Blue! Shotgun is one of the ‘older’ tracks on the album. Released as a single in 2020, its music video was directed by Iraina Mancini. Inspired by'60s and'70s film scores and soundtracks with hints of Jazz, Funk, Cinema and Soul, there is a 1971 sample from Soft Wind by Gary Pacific Orchestra. I imagine, again, maybe a Bond film themes. Perhaps a 1960s film with this very smoky, cool and slinky sound. Combining something ice-cool, hot, sexy and dangerous, Mancini said this about the track: “Shotgun is sexy and seductive. It’s about being wildly and dangerously in love. You know that moment when it’s unhealthy and dangerous, but it’s just too late, you are under their spell and in too deep. Inspired by the album Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg, Iraina and collaborator Jagz Kooner (Primal Scream/Oasis) have created something that is simultaneously playful, naughty and wildly romantic. Shotgun could be the title track for a 70s porno, found playing in a late-night Smokey jazz cafe in Paris or the soundtrack to a wild night out in the seediest parts of Soho scored by Quentin Tarantino. “Like an old movie scene we drove for miles in summer rain, I took a chance and left it all and my heart it smiled again“ The accompanying video was made by Iraina at home using an iPhone and 8mm footage. Inspired by vintage film titles for James Bond, Old B Movie’s and live at the Fillmore posters, Iraina involved the artist Grigory Grebennikov and animator Russell Agro to make her vision come alive”. I did get a lot of Quentin Tarantino in the song. A cut you could see in Pulp Fiction or even Jackie Brown, it is another remarkable sonic shift with wonderful arrangement from Iraina Mancini and Jagz Kooner.
The final three tracks of Undo the Blue keep the quality high and offer plenty of variation. The current single, What You Doin’, features Miles Kane’s incredible guitar chops and some phenomenal harmonica work from the wonderful Kitty Liv. The only track to really bring in other musicians (not in her band/crew), it is nice that Undo the Blue offers this consistent band and backbone, but it also has one track offering a couple of new faces to the mix. A stomper that has aspects of Glam, I get impressions of classic T. Rex, David Bowie during his imperial and majestic Aladdin Sane period, with some Goldfrapp. The second single released through Needle Mythology, Mancini has said of What You Doin’: “I wrote about someone not being able to see what’s right in front of them, and If they don’t act soon, then you’re not waiting around! It’s got a lot of attitude and confidence. I love the live feel the song has, it was great to have Miles Kane (guitar) and Kitty Liv (harmonica) come down to the studio to jam on the track. Their parts added an extra sprinkle of magic to the song”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Dora Paphides
I am not sure where we are in our film/story in terms of the rollercoaster. Maybe a new love has renewed her spirits and got her heart beating, the opening lines are wonderfully rich: “Take a little bit of my heart too/Open up I’m in front of you/The bloods spinning round my head/So reach out and touch me instead/Oh if you ever want take a chance/I’ll be waiting here with open hands/Your buzz is so sweet all around me/I'll give you my loving up for free”. With the song’s title repeated like a chant or call, it is an instantly catchy track that goes down a storm when she performs it live! The video, shot at Abbey Road Studios, sort of visualises the lyrics and flavour of What You Doin’. There are nods to 1970s Glam and Funk. But there are also bits of Queens of the Stone Age too. Such an original and standout song that does stop you in your tracks, you have to bow down to Mancini’s incredible ability to blend different sights and sounds and make it all hang together! So much variation on Undo the Blue and yet, as I said, it is distinctly the production and sound of one artist.
Need Your Love is the penultimate track. Twanging and sauntering almost like an Italian Western film, again this could be a film score. It is a truly stunning track. I keep coming back to James Bond (my apologies!), but such is the incredible potency and lustre of the song, it could be on the big screen! I sort of see this, sonically at least, as a companion to Undo the Blue. There is that similar haziness and dreaminess in places. In the chorus, I love the backing vocals (from Mancini) that repeats the song’s title. It adds a beautiful layer. With some excellent talk-singing at the two-thirds point, our heroine says: “I’m strong like a lion/Got a fire in my chest”. I keep saying every song could be a single, but this really could be! I see Mancini in darker red lipstick, maybe in a (purple) suit. Almost like a spy or femme fatale, you get something new from the song each time you pass through. This is a song most people would not have heard. It ensures that you get some more familiar favourites with deeper cuts that will instantly stick in the mind and builds a bigger picture of a superb artist.
PHOTO CREDIT: Dora Paphides
Like Madonna’s 1994 album, Bedtime Stories, Iraina Mancini’s stunning debut ends with a song called Take a Bow. If Madonna’s song was sweeping ballad where she compared a cruel lover to an actor who is asked to take a bow after he took her love for granted, then that is not the case here. One of the simpler songs in terms of musicians – Mancini is credited alongside Ian Barter (piano, guitar and bass) -, it is the perfect end. Some might say end with Undo the Blue or What You Doin’, but I think that Take a Bow is a brilliant finale! Also, I do think Mancini had a story or order in her head that means Take a Bow is the ‘end credits’. You get a real sense of credits rolling as Mancini calls out to this unnamed figure. Asking if their “heart is near”, maybe this is someone who has gone through a lot and needs something new. Asking her other not to make things harder, perhaps we are dealing with a break-up. Ian Barter co-wrote the lyrics. Ghostly, atmospheric and seductive at the same time, this is a remarkable song where Mancini and Barter compose, write and mix.
There are a few excellent different producers through the album so, rather than miss any out at the top of the review and it being quite glaring, Needle Mythology write: “Simon Dine (Paul Weller) Jagz Kooner (David Holmes, Oasis, Shakespear’s Sister) and Sunglasses For Jaws (Miles Kane), who have all produced the record along with additional production from Erol Alkan (The Killers, Duran Duran, Ride)”. This is also worth quoting: “Speaking about the album Iraina comments “The songs on my album are all about reinvention and following your dreams. I really felt like the hero in my own movie, creating a fantasy world were anything’s possible. My album is a huge reflection of my passions, filled with references from my favourite music, films and art. I’m thrilled to be finally putting it all together and sharing it with everyone“. A while ago, I listed my top three albums. At the top was boygenius’ debut, the record. Undo the Blue was my favourite single of last year. Cannonball is my favourite of this year. I think that Undo the Blue might have leapt to the number one spot when it comes to my favourite albums of this year – it is very close to the record at least! Lauren Laverne (BBC Radio 6 Music) has already professed her love of Iraina Mancini. Her songs have been played and backed on the station by the likes of Chris Hawkins.
There is so much goodwill and passion out there for a staggeringly talented artist (and a very modest and warm human who has such a bright future ahead). Mancini is preparing for her U.K. tour. I think we will see her tour internationally soon. There would definitely be a lot of love for her in nations like the U.S. At such a hard and strange time for us all, we, as a people, are dealing with so much scary stuff. Music is an escape and way to make like seem better and more hopeful. On her tremendous debut album, Undo the Blue, Mancini offers ten tracks of glistening and glorious gold. A banquet; jewellery box. So many wonderful and diverse sounds, sung by an astonishing singer with an incredible emotional and dynamic range. Iraina Mancini is a wonderful and versatile red-hot-cool and iconic queen with one of the sharpest, richest, multifarious, and most intriguing pens in modern music. Undo the Blue is an album to buy, cherish, surrender yourself to, and revisit time and time again. Its fabulous and dreamy title track will undo the blue. It is an album that we all…
IN THIS PHOTO: Iraina Mancini mid-performance and in her element at a spellbinding gig at The Lexington, London on 13th July, 2023/PHOTO CREDIT: Lloyd Winters
SERIOUSLY need right now.