bishi - nights at the circus

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so, the time is now here.

after a chunk of fashion magazine focus, a lot of belief, the debut bishi album, 'nights at the circus', is here.

fusing western pop song structures with an added element of sitar and tablas, there are times i feel as though i should have a greater understanding of the world of bollywood.
thankfully, the fact i have never sat through a bollywood movie doesn’t detract from the fact that in parts, this album is a pure pop album.
things start off brilliantly, with the title track being a great way to introduce bishis wonderful vocals and overall way with a song, which after a few minutes of rhythm and verse, decends into a mass of tabla and sitar chaos. very enjoyable.

the production is delicate and slight on 'magus', tablas create the beat, which are supplemented by all manner of unusual but exotic sounding instruments, again revealing my own ignorance, as i really don’t know what instrument is making what noise here but it matters not, as bishi has not forgotten to bring in an ear pleasing melody.
for 'i am you', toybox glockenspiels are placed alongside a nice electronic foundation, with bishis vocals phased and layered, this is another genuine pop highlight, and one that would make the dreary radio playlist a lot more colourful.

admittedly, there are a few tracks where my mind wondered about a little. having been told the appeal is all about the live show, i guess if you have caught her recent well received shows then such tracks as the harp heavy, 'the swan', the folk-esque acoustics of 'grandmothers floor', and 'nightbus', work better in the live situation, but here such traditional sounding tracks feel to weigh the album down.
beautiful yes, but at odds with the pop aspect of the album.

is this album a serious statement of art a la joanna newsom, or a pop album ?

at times i find myself struggling with this duality, especially as i love the pop side, however, i can’t pretend, traditional folk music and ireallylovemusic have never really made friends.

so, when bishi hits her stride with tales of woe and doom amongst music that would fit on the soundtrack to 'the wickerman', i find it a strange double act to reconcile with the popsongs.
still, i would like to think that this is an album that will please a lot of people, especailly as it has been released in a time when each week brings an unwelcome glut of dreary indentikit indie pop bands, so it is great to hear something that is original, quirky, and rather unique with its use of tablas, sitars, accordians and traditional folk songs.

so, despite my shortsighted negativity, i suggest you give it a listen, you may be, and probably quite rightly, totally entralled.

more detail : http://www.bishi.co.uk/