We Are Born

Sia chooses eclectics

The Australian singer Sia knows very well how it feels to achieve fame. This strong woman has been recording albums a good half of her life, moved by her intention to make the world more colorful with the help of her new sonic harmonies. She mostly wrote beautiful ballads at the early stages of her creative work as well as interesting compositions that combined the elements of various styles such as jazz, R&B, pop-music. At first her melodious songs became subject to successful remixes, and then the single Breathe Me ended up as part of the popular series Six Feet Under soundtrack, and the song became Sia’s calling card. The singer released Some People Have Real Problems in 2008 which contained both ballads and some eclectic tracks that proved to be no less successful. The artist herself has probably enjoyed the latter more because her new, fifth album We Are Born consists of vivid danceable compositions almost entirely, and they are so pretty and magnetic that it may seem like she has never sung sad ballads at all.

The theme of relations on We Are Born

Emotions have always been the base to Sia’s music, and We Are Born is not an exception in this respect. Yet, even though the theme of relations is still here, it is served under a completely different dressing. The point is that a young and quite promising producer Greg Kurstin has worked on the album, he has run all the material through the filter of his trademark hooks such as handclapping, sharp-angled guitar samples and the mixture of bell ringing and drums. Therefore, if one takes a look at the texts separately from the arrangements it would be a classic Sia album, in which there is a place for pain and worries but it is the optimistic sounding of tunes and beats that disguises these feelings. The first single You've Changed is the brightest example of that: a contagious disco, sparkling vocals and memorable chorus, and shattered dreams and disillusion in the lyrics. The second single Clap Your Hands will make feel better everyone who is upset about something due to the composition’s lightness throughout, whereas the song Hurting Me Now sounds easy-going but also touches upon some feelings that are not so enjoyable. A fantastic song Be Good To Me is carried out in the best traditions of Sia – cosmic audio effects, a chorus that allows her to demonstrate the wide voice range and an emotional text full of vulnerability. Bring Night stands out among the really positive moments with a very contagious chorus, and Never Gonna Leave Me, almost a rock number, also deserves attention. The album closes with an amazing cover of Madonna’s Oh Father, definitely one of the highlights on the shiny record.

An optimal balance of contradictory feelings

Despite that Sia’s new album has the largest percentage of danceable numbers in comparison with all of her previous material the difference will hardly disappoint her fans; they are more likely to remain pleased and nicely surprised. First, because there is still a place for a soulful, endlessly sad ballad on We Are Born, it is I’m In Here, the concentration of fear, vulnerability, and loneliness. Second, Kurstin’s arrangements are so harmonious and underline Sia’s heartfelt vocals so successfully that these songs are sure to become your favorites at once after the first listening already. Finally the singer and producer have managed to find an optimal balance of contradictory feelings and one simply won’t find a failure track here which would be too joyful or too sad. It is a great step forward for the singer – completely new shades have appeared in her music, and her unique style has once again confirmed its positions in the mainstream. The songs’ protagonist on We Are Born is capable of having fun even when the things are far from good in her soul. Such a contemporary approach makes the fifth album the most many-faceted in Sia’s discography, and no doubt it is going to become the most successful as well.