A Gorgeous Darkness

Natalie McCool has an incredibly individual voice that immediately sets her album ‘The Great Unknown’ apart from any other that I have listened to over the year. On the surface, it sounds like a voice that you’d associate with off kilter love songs.

The album opener ‘Pins’ certainly isn’t a love song as she angrily takes an ex to task for deliberately setting out to hurt her, but she defiantly points out that this person never had her heart to begin with.

‘Cardiac Arrest’ is a gorgeously crafted pop song with an arrangement that shows a warmer, less brittle side to McCool’s voice.

‘Fortress’ is a marvellous song with an unmistakable Eurythmics vibe and a vocal performance that the great Annie Lennox would be proud of. It’s an uplifting tune with a killer chorus that may see her breaking in to the charts if there’s any justice. It’s telling, however, that this upbeat tune features lyrics about protecting yourself from life by building the titular ‘Fortress’.

‘Oh Danger’ returns to the darker and more unsettling side of McCool’s song writing with the story of a probably doomed relationship which sees her return to a person who throws her heart overboard even though she knows they’re no good for her.

‘Magnet’ is a welcome change of McCool’s apparent point of view on love as she finds someone who she is instantly attracted to and wonders if her life can get any better. ‘Just Let Me Go’ is another lovely tune that contrasts the almost despairing message of the title.

‘Feel Good’ talks about someone being pinned in to a frame like an insect, and is an extremely unsettling song. The whole album is determinedly individual and marks out McCool as a genuinely interesting and extremely talented singer songwriter with a lot to say. What she says may not always make for a comfortable listen, but it is well worth feeling that discomfort to enjoy this one of a kind artist.

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