Carina Round

With dark melodies and electric vocals, British singer Carina Round's criminally underrated album The Disconnection garnered comparisons to PJ Harvey. Slow Motion Addict employs the same jolting riffs and near-discordant melodies of her debut, but here producer Glen Ballard crafts Round's fearless intensity into a more structured form, giving the songs a new depth of sound. Varied and inventive, the album is infused with yearning lyrics and driven by a jagged hunger; balancing the songs' raw emotion with a sense of melodic control.

Establishing her presence with aggressive guitars and a haunting high melody, opening track "Stolen Car" builds around a tense electronic undertone and crescendos reminiscent of Canadian pop duo Tegan and Sara's recent work. This intensity remains throughout as Round delivers a sequence of taut, complex songs that are both immediate and memorable.

Meanwhile, the slower tracks are not soft, but coiled with this hunger; Round's voice is rich and expressive on the breathy "Down Slow" and the soaring "January Heart." The irresistible melody of "Want More" provides what is perhaps the record's simplest song, but even this simplicity is compelling and dramatic—a swooping, layered bridge building the sense of craving that is a dominant theme of the collection. Slow Motion Addict will doubtless be one of this year's overlooked gems.

—Abby McDonald
08.16.07

On Slow Motion Addict, Carina Round switches from the witchy, slinky rawness of The Disconnection to impatient rock with a slick veneer. Throughout the album, she walks a fine line between arty instincts and commercially viable pop (produced by alt-pop mastermind Glen Ballard, no less), and while the results aren't as striking as her debut, they're almost as revealing. "Take the Money" is a jaded, witty ode to selling out, in which she describes hearing her music everywhere in promiscuous terms: "You know you got me in the elevator/You know you got me on the radio...I'm gonna give it to you 'til you choke." Her words are ironic, but her delivery is so passionate that it's sometimes hard to tell when she's kidding -- which, of course, only makes things more interesting. On "How Many Times," Round sounds like she's getting ready to wallow in angst, then sneering backing vocals usher in the wry, world-weary chorus; it's like Dorothy Parker asking "what fresh hell is this?" backed by Elastica. Several of Slow Motion Addict's other rock-based tracks display this kind of wit and insight. "Gravity Lies"' rippling drum machines and biting guitars make Round into a one-woman Kills, while a spoken word interlude and video game-like sound effects keep it from feeling too by-the-numbers; "Want More" is an elegant push-pull of a song with lavish harmonies. The second half of Slow Motion Addict slows down and focuses on Round's softer side, and while "Down Slow" and "Come to You" are undeniably pretty, they're not as gripping as the album's louder tracks. Fortunately, "Slow Motion Addict" itself and the sweeping finale, "The City," manage to dial down the volume while keeping the intensity of the album's first half. Slow Motion Addict isn't quite as fully realized as The Disconnection, but Round and this album are too intriguing and intense to be dismissed easily. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide