Music Reviews.
Paulini – Superwoman
They say singers are born, not made. And that’s true… if you think singing is about hitting a note and staying in tune. But that’s just the mechanics: great singing, soul singing, is about instinct, feel and emotional truths. Ultimately, though, it’s about connections – between a voice, a song and a listener. And that’s what makes SUPERWOMAN, Paulini’s long awaited follow up to 2004’s Platinum selling, ARIA No. 1 album, One Determined Heart, so astonishing. Paulini doesn’t so much sing the album’s 12 songs as connect with them completely, drenching them in soul and draping them in multi-textured, honey-soaked tones. For the listener it’s an aural indulgence, a sensory head-trip that recalls the sweet release and cathartic joy of the legendary soul queens. Yet where One Determined Heart was a collection of well chosen covers that paid homage to the artists who inspired her, SUPERWOMAN is a collection of truly international, original, R&B, pop-soul songs indelibly stamped with the voice and presence of a singer poised to become Australia’s own First Lady of Soul and R&B.
Paulini’s instinctive ability to explore the natural range of a song can be traced to her early years living with her family in Fiji. Born into a large, Christian family of six, Paulini was raised in an environment where singing seemed like the most natural thing in the world. “Everyone sat around and sang”, recalls Paulini. “And any chance I had to sing, I was there. I think that’s where I got my confidence as a singer”. But the influence doesn’t end there. SUPERWOMAN’s lush, multi-layered harmonies are all sung and arranged by Paulini – yet Paulini has never been formally taught how to sing harmonies, let alone attend a vocal lesson. “That’s cause there’s a style of singing in my dad’s village called Polutu”, says Paulini, “where you can take any harmony anywhere… even an octave higher. There’s every kind of harmony! So I just learnt how to harmonise in my head”.
Like many teenagers growing up in the 90s, Paulini was a huge fan of pop divas like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, and their influence still informs her vocals. “When I was 12, 13, I absolutely loved them – and I still do… even if that duet was a bit over the top!” But it is Aretha Franklin and Beyonce Knowles who have had the greatest impact on Paulini’s vocal approach to SUPERWOMAN. “I just love the way they’re on the edge and they’re not safe with the way they sing their songs. You know, whatever comes out, comes out. It doesn’t necessarily make sense with the music, but it works. They nail everything with feel”.
Paulini’s faith adds another dimension to SUPERWOMAN, infusing the songs with a raw, gospel-tinged edge that bolsters the album’s emotional integrity. “These are not Christian songs”, says Paulini. “But when you’re in church you sing with everything you have from the depth of your experience. And that’s what I wanted to bring to this album… singing from the heart. Soul singing.”
SUPERWOMAN is a deliberate, creative leap of faith for Paulini. It transforms her from a singer best known for singing covers – albeit her own interpretations thereof – to an artist bringing her own vocal style to original songs she either chose or co-wrote. “I’m sure people thought that I could only sing safe kind of songs. But I wanted to make a record that showed different sides of me. A lot of people have this image of me as very… kind of simple, I guess… a girl next door. But this album is not about a girl. It’s about (as the title track so perfectly demonstrates) a woman who’s just trying to do the best she can”.
SUPERWOMAN explores a world of relationships and everyday life experiences from the female perspective. And though its ultimately optimistic and resilient in tone, there’s a melancholy that’s pervasive: “Life’s about the simple things” but “the world ain’t what it seems to be” (“I Believe”); “I’ve had a real rough day / Wanna get away / Run a million miles / From reality” (“Rough Day”); “I’m not your superwoman” (“Superwoman”); “Who will I run to / … Now you’re not here in my life” (“Who Will I Run To?”); “Just leave me alone” (“Married Man”).
“The great thing about singing and music”, says Paulini, “is that you express what you’re feeling from inside and maybe that’s why some of the songs or my vocals seem a bit dark”.
Recorded in Los Angeles, Spain, London and Australia, SUPERWOMAN is an album with a truly international feel, due in large part to an incredible vocal performance that positions Paulini right alongside the artists she cites as her inspiration. Running the old skool / nu-skool R&B, pop-soul spectrum, with flashes of disco and a handful of soulful power ballads, SUPERWOMAN is brimming with melodies and bursting with potential radio singles: any one of “Rough Day”, “Married Man”, “I Believe”, “The Poet”, “So Over You”, “Superwoman” and “Call Me” could be radio staples over the next 12 months.
For Paulini, SUPERWOMAN is an album which has seen her rise and meet her expectations. “I absolutely treasure this album”, she says. “I’ve had more control, some of my own songs are on it, and I’ve sung it exactly the way I wanted to sing it. I hope that people will be happy with it. I’ve tried my best. But for me, the most important thing is that people know that I can sing and I’m not faking everything. It’s real and it’s genuine”.
Written, produced and recorded in Los Angeles with sold gold hitmaker Matthew Gerard (Kelly Clarkson, Delta Goodrem, Jesse McCartney, Shannon Noll), 'Rough Day' is a carefree and contagious party starter, a soulful slice of escapist, R&B tinged pop that's guaranteed to keep the blues at bay and the party at play.
"I've had a real rough day/Wanna get away Gone have some fun/Are you feelin' me?"
Yeah we're feeling you alright!
What is truly extraordinary – and we really mean extraordinary – about 'Rough Day' is the sheer class of Paulini's vocal performance. Her multi-textured, honeyed tones effortlessly caress the lyrics, transporting the listener "a million miles from reality."
Paulini makes it all sound so easy, but the reality is she's in rarefied territory here. There's nothing forced, there's no sleight of hand. There's just the natural flow of a singer in supreme command of her voice and her song. And for Paulini, that's all that matters.
"For me, the most important thing is that people know that I can sing and I'm not faking anything," says Paulini. "It's real and it's genuine."
Yeah, We're feeling you.
'Rough Day' features an absolutely stellar and very groovy retro styled video, directed by twin directors Jonathan and Josh Baker (Guy Sebastian's 'Oh Oh', Koolism's 'Adrenalin'), that ups the party factor of the song another level.
JBHifi {moscomment}
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