Ten Feet High

Andrea Corr strives to make different music

Two years have past since The Corrs released their recent album Home and it seems like this is not the final delay. They do not even think about making another one so far. The band took a longstanding break from the music industry to raise their kids and as it is commonly known it takes time. However, they stated numerous times that they never see themselves quitting making music and will be surely back on a big stage. In a word, admirers of this extremely popular Irish band have nothing else to do but hope that the gap in The Corrs’ career won’t last too long. But the situation is not that bad. Those who can’t wait to hear something new from the Corrs family have a chance to satisfy their appetite. While all the members of The Corrs are busy with their private affairs the band’s lead vocalist Andrea Corr decided to avail herself of the situation and get down to the solo career. Her first disk Ten Feet High turned out to be pretty unexpected and incredibly promising record. Andrea tried to expand the sonic palette and make something different from the folk standards of The Corr.

Experimental character of the album

Ten Feet High has a peculiar experimental character. It uses a wider range of stylistic influences than records of The Corrs and enters different sonic territories. This result was achieved owing to the efforts of the album’s producer Hellee Hooper best known for his works with Bjork, Massive Attack and U2 who introduced a lot of electronic elements into the arrangements. Eleven tracks of the album are composed by Andrea herself, except for one, which is a cover of a song by English band Squeeze called Take Me I’m Yours. It seems like Andrea felt unbearably cramped in the borders of The Corrs. Her new songs became more edged and serious and folk hooks were replaced by electronic samples. However, Andrea herself sounds almost the same: her performing manner, emotional delivery and even melodic patterns remind you about her former works. So it is hard to say that she has successfully disclosed her new side. However, it is rather an advantage than vice versa. She has amazingly beautiful voice, which has its admirers allover the world and this is exactly why Ten Feet High will be interesting to those who is familiar with her records already. The more so because many songs are based on the same principles that The Corrs used to exploit.

Andrea Corr managed to keep the spirit of The Corrs

Despite experimental nature of the album many songs still have the spirit of The Corrs. This atmosphere may sound veiled but the influence of Irish music is audible throughout the album. There are only two or three songs that sound in a really different way. It concerns the very first track Hello Boys, which offers heaviest bass lines and moody industrial atmosphere, Take Me I’m Yours and Anybody There, which is probably the most unusual song here. The album’s main single is Shame On You (To Keep My Love From Me), the song represents a perfect combination of Andrea’s familiar tunes and magnificent electronic arrangement. There is almost no filler material on the album, literally every single song strikes with the perfect approach to songwriting and accompaniment. The most serious advantage of the album lies in production work. It is not just qualitative - it is interesting. Every song offers something new but at the same time the album sound really coherent. Ten Feet High is a very bright start for Andrea’s solo career. If you have doubts if she can establish herself as a solo artist simply listen to the album and they will disappear at once.