The Spirit Indestructible

The Spirit Indestructible: nothing new except what is forgotten

Nelly Furtado has a wonderful tradition according to which she presents the world her full-scale studio album in the interval of three years. And 2012 was no exception. It is September, 14 when The Spirit Indestructible saw the light. LP is already on sale and, according to Nelly, it shows her intense personal and musical growth. Such statements can hardly be empty, frivolous or classified as a marketing move, taking into account what is already under Miss Furtado’s belt, and here we have: her debut album Whoa, Nelly!, album Folklore, multiplatinum disc Loose and Hispanic LP Mi plan. Nelly is one of the few stars who are constantly monitoring changing music fashion, taking the pulse of the music world, and in the same time preserving zest and authenticity of her own style. This time, zest of the album was found in Kenya, during one of the charity event, after which eventually appeared track named Spirit Indestructible that gave the name to the album. And then there was a collection, processing, polishing of the available material for a long three-year period, change of Timbaland as a producer to the notorious Darkchild, who has worked with stars like Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. That’s how we got The Spirit Indestructible. The main theme of the album is stated as nostalgia and memories of the past in fresh and bright colors. Well, let's see.

In the grip of experiments

LP opens with the track Spirit Indestructible that became the name of the album. This is a strong and vibrant piece of music that is on a par with another one called Miracles, and symbolizes Nelly’s return to the big stage, where for the last six years Lady Gaga, Cheryl Cole, Rihanna, Katie Perry, Rita Ora and others have been working hard. These songs continue the atmosphere established in the album Loose and serve as a transitional bridge to the new sound, and are a kind of commemoration of coming back to the English-speaking audience. In addition to nostalgia, Nelly is attempting to experiment and try something new, that she clearly put in Big Hoops and High Life. There the vocals and the whole melody are more like a kind of a mixture of pop and indie direction as Nelly Furtado’s melodics takes extravagant and grotesque appearances. But one cannot say that these forms are accepted in The Spirit Indestructible as an absolute - whether probing the soil, or taking a provident move, Nelly does not stop and tries her hand in the direction of folk movement. The most striking example here is the song The Most Beautiful Thing, sung in a duet with Portuguese singer and songwriter Sara Tavares who has already reached a certain status in pop and folk styles. Throughout the duration of the album we see a struggle of new and old, nostalgic track Circles, being rooted somewhere around 2000s I'm Like a Bird, neighboring with Waiting for the Night - track that greets us with powerful, fresh, bright Madonna style. And so it goes.

Return a la Nelly Furtado

The Spirit Indestructible came out the way it could be made only by Nelly Furtado, singer who is not accustomed with limiting herself to any single direction and is always looking for inspiration in other styles. Despite the inconsistency and desire to experiment, on the one hand, the album still echoes with sounds of the past, like sounds of Whoa, Nelly!, Folklore and sensational LP Loose. Hardcore old-school fans of Ms. Furtado may not like such a concourse of circumstances, but all the others will definitely find something new for themselves. We can only summarize that the return of the star of early 2000s is certainly succeeded. Her coming back was not so loud, shocking and pretentious as her first steps, but still impressive and was made typically Furtado style, not only vocally, but in musical content as well. Passion for experimentation has not violated and spoiled her unique style and is limited only to small doses of new directions, without massive dubstep and electronic infusions. Good or bad, it is difficult to say, the album is fresh and just recently went on sale, time will tell how loud was the return of Nelly Furtado, but meanwhile we should taste what is prepared for us, besides in addition to the main dish there is a good second helping in the form of second disc. Let’s try and look forward whether the storm is going to a break out...