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"Everybody Got Their Something"
Nikka Costa's fiercely bootylicious
first single, "Like A Feather"--that song with the
thick, clapped 16th notes--has already garnered the 28-year-old
singer one hell of a buzz, and for the most part, she's got the
goods to back it up. Already a platinum-selling artist in Europe
and South America, the Tokyo-born, L.A.-bred singer's stateside
debut bulges with ambition. It's a mixed bag of musical tricks
that's equal parts '70s-style funk, hazy Led Zeppelin-inspired
psychedelia, and angst-ridden alternachick yowling, with healthy
dollops of soul, hip-hop, and thrash thrown in for good measure.
Produced by Nikka Costa, Australian rocker Justin Stanley (who's
also the singer's husband), and high-profile New York City deejay
Mark Ronson, the album works best when it piles on the noise--like
on the standout "Tug Of War," which features the unmistakable
rim-shot work of Roots drummer ?uestlove. On that track, a flurry
of scratched samples, layers of soundboard-smeared noise, and
a few luscious string sweeps break into gospel-choir harmonies
that swirl gorgeously beneath Costa's reedy mezzo-soprano wails.
It's a shame that she can't match this intensity on sparser down-tempo
ballads like "Nothing" and "Just Because,"
where she sounds like Fiona Apple's slightly less annoying older
sis. As the album's title says, everybody got their something,
and Nikka Costa sounds best when she sticks to hers. --Sylvia
W. Chan |
