Nicole Simone

Nicole Simone EP (Crystal Ship Music)

By Erin Lyndal Martin
Published: March 29th, 2010 | 1:00pm

The first thing one notices upon listening to Nicole Simone's self-titled debut EP is the singer’s whispered voice that rests somewhere between childlike wonder and smoky vixen. The EP centers around her voice, a wise choice rather than using extravagant production which would have camouflaged Simone's greatest asset. The sparse instrumentation on the album serves to highlight Simone's voice, full of lamentations that range from sorrow over love lost ("The Wedding") to not knowing how to play the mandolin ("Teach Me”).

A highlight of the EP is the single, "Melt.” Simone croons, "I've got to save the world from loving you," and eventually laments "All I would give to melt your heart." The song is a perfect, slow affair full of simple guitar chords and understated trumpet work.

The following track, "Haunt You," is more repetitive and less successful, but still makes good use of Simone's haunting vocals. The darkest song, however, is "You Got Me." As creepy music sets the scene, Simone references chains and her role as a slave in her lover's kingdom. "You have got me / Oh you got me," she sings, making herself sound more like a possession than a partner. "Every day I waste away by loving you," she concludes as the music fades away.

The EP closes with the big band-inflected "Back for More." By now listeners will recognize the song as standard Simone fare: an obsession with a distant lover delivered over instrumental lamentations. It doesn't make the song any less successful, though. Rather, it's a perfect close to the end of a haunting affair united by Simone's delicate, lovely voice.

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