Wiser

Album Review

Halou's Wiser opens up with a sweetly serene synth pad rising in a crescendo towards a very nice hip-hop breakbeat, and then a breakdown where Halou's vocalist, known only as Rebecca, comes in with her sweet and sexy voice. This recording follows in much the same direction for the rest of the recording, with its blended synthesized experimentation, strange musical production, and Rebecca's excellently evocative voice. Many comparisons could be made to this combination of synth technology and sultry female vocalist, but in the front of the mind is Portishead, Goldfarb, Sneaker Pimps, and even some Everything But the Girl. Halou's Wiser is exciting because it isn't safe; so many of the aforementioned artists play it safe and reuse the ideas that Moby was experimenting with in 1990, but Halou takes it all the way, creating a recording that is evocative, experimental, in the purest sense of the word, and provocative, as it breaks new ground and subsequently achieves a new aesthetic in the electronic guru/female vocalist equation. Thus this recording is an originator, unlike the lot of the imitators that are out there working under the guise of techno-friendly pop music. Kudos to Nettwerk Productions for releasing this excellent disc!