Stine Bramsen - EP

Buy Stine's EP here (UK iTunes)

The evolution of Stine Bramsen from pop band member to gloriously innovative solo artist could not, quite frankly, have gone any better. She's successfully managed to transition into an enticing proposition in her own right without ever making fans of Alphabeat feel like she's completely turned her back on the sound that bought her to prominence in the first place. In many ways the music of Stine Bramsen and the music of Alphabeat are as similar as they are different. Alphabeat took a more pure pop approach to unveiling it's emotions whereas Stine incorporates elements of pop, soul, gospel and rock into the sound she exquisitely purveys. Both, however, know how to deliver lyrics that impact the listener whilst creating a hook that's not soon forgotten. It's this blending of genres that makes her debut EP such a stunning composition from start to finish. The six songs weave a spell that leave you as enchanted as you are devastated. It's an EP that feels as timely as it does timeless. I could heap platitude after platitude on it but you are best off listening yourself. Here are the delights contained within...

• Move Forward ~ Move Forward is an uplifting, rousing, euphoric anthem that will carry you through your latest internal crisis and beyond. Lyrically it tells a tale we can all relate to - of being knocked down by the cruel ironies of fate but making oh so sure we pick ourselves up again, forge onwards and rise triumphant like a phoenix from the flames. If there is anyone you want in your corner as your own musical motivator, your designated pom pom cheerleader of life then it's Stine Bramsen. Swathed in a gorgeous array of percussive beats, delicious 90s house piano, a rhythmic groove and contemporary synth effects, Our Lady Beat has never sounded so empowered & radiant in her urging for you to be your own champion. Like a preacher on the pulpit, her vocals are inflected with gospel elegance as she infuses the congregation with hope, resilience and a passionate urgency - emotions that she not only conveys with her words but also with that powerhouse singing. All these elements coalesce to make something rather magical with a chorus so indelible it will be permanently scorched into your cerebral cortex. A magnificent opening track that sets the standard for the entire EP...
• Prototypical ~ single number one for Stine and her first opportunity to show to the world her musical progression during what I pray is only an Alphabeat hiatus. What's really clever about the first solo outing is that Stine takes many of the musical elements that Alphabeat were famous for (handclaps, percolating persistent beat, shimmying tambourine style percussion), tosses them in the air and subverts them to ensure that her tune has an air of familiarity to it, yet is still a natural progression from her group style. Prototypical is actually a rollicking pop tune (vaguely reminiscent of Rumour Has It by Adele) that, in instrumental terms, provides the perfect blank canvas for Stine to paint her expressive vocal brush strokes across to give the tune real heart and personality. The narrative (in the broadest sense) it's about the transformative power of love - about yearning to cast off the cycle of failed relationships she has grown up learning from and embracing the traditional romance. Indeed, when she sings "I used to be so cynical, now I am prototypical", the passion & yearning in her voice says more about love & relations than a thousand cookie cutter ballads ever could. As you get swept up in the delirium of that rousing musical score, you can't help but subscribe to the theories of Stine leaving the listener all sorts of elated by the time the song has ended.
• Fall Apart ~ clocking in at just under three minutes, Fall Apart is as representative of Stine's philosophy towards music as it is of her actual musical output. It's brevity harkens back to a simpler time when most songs on the radio were usually three minutes or less. Stine knows that she can deliver more actualised compelling and evocative feelings in this amount of time as is needed - without it feeling overbearing or overwrought. The sparse backing track actually works in favour of underscoring the sentiments at play here - the hurt and devastation caused by a lover being less than careful with Stine's heart. You feel every nuanced ounce of anguish she sings at the ramifications that relationship games can cause. It feels like the spiritual precursor to Move Forward - in fact, it's almost a necessity to listen to that song straight after this one so you can have the healing process start. Some songs are written to describe the more sorrowful moments in your life and actually help you by knowing that - just like the song ending - so will the pain. Fall Apart whether you need it for closure, for now or for the future will help the start of the sorrow ending. Sheer poetry.
• Not What I Came For ~ At this point of the EP called EP you may well feel like you want to run over and give Stine a hug. Whatever inspired this music comes from a place of disappointment and loss. Yes there is the sense of overcoming these lows but it surely has taken it's toll. Not What I Came For doesn't focus on the hurt or heartache that some of the other tracks have beautifully captured (for indeed in sorrow there is beauty) but gives crushing realisation that sometimes (as Cathy Dennis once said) your dreams turn to dust. A shimmering dub-infused score (that Moby would kill for) is a tangible as rain on a cloudy day, dripping with the discouragement that the lyrics require. That's not to say it's not the most heavenly of music because it absolutely is. It's echoing effect against the simmering cymbals and trip-hop percussion actually act as an uplifting crescendo that turn the disappointment of "not what I came for" into acceptance and the strength to learn from the situation. It goes without saying at this point that Stine is a gifted storyteller who commands attention whether she's fragile or empowered. There's no need for vocal histrionics - her voice is always the gift the listener is looking for; a siren's song soundtracking every facet of love and life.
• Karma Town ~ From those punctuated opening piano chords to the haunting backing vocals through to the persistent groove, Karma Town is the culmination of all these bad experiences and an entirely satisfying musical experience. It's irrepressible charm and buoyant chorus make this feel like the type of song that should be rushing to the top of the charts as Stine imparts her wisdom with a fiery intensity that's all too hard to resist. There's an element of seduction to it too - like she's saying in the most inveigling way possible, "look, learn from what I know and everyone will be better off". She's preaching to the choir here because I'm all about the scripture of Stine...
• The Day You Leave Me ~ What you get here is a pensive electro-ballad that shimmers with trip hop influences while elegiac strings permeating the production. As the title suggests, it's a song that lyrically sees Stine examining what her emotions would be if the person she's singing to ever walked permanently out the door. It's a fascinating psychological study as it's not clear whether Stine has been given an inkling of this happening or whether she's using it as leverage to get the person to reconsider. Her singing is imbued with a fear and anxiety that's positively palpable and it makes for an electrifying and compelling vocal that dominates the track. There's a resigned inevitability to the music that speaks more to the nature of heartbreak and loss than a thousand emotionally cloying chick-flicks ever could. The score adds to the narrative - that final "you won't hold me" sung with such aching nuance sees the instrumental abruptly fade away, as if the loss happened quickly and brutally despite all the warning signs. It's rare that a pop song (or EP for that matter) comes along that is as emotionally yet beautifully accomplished as this.