Altsounds - Kelli Ali - Rocking Horse (Album)

Kelli Ali hails from Birmingham for the uninitiated but to listen to this album you certainly won't be thinking of endless motorways, traffic jams, and Frank Skinner (sorry I need to brush up on my Birmingham knowledge) instead you'll be floated above the clouds to some-sort of fantasia where we are all at peace, we have no war, we have no poverty, we have no damn credit-crunch instead in it's place where we have genetically made unicorns and we all own one, everyday meals consist of candy-floss, and everyone has a smile like a frickin' rainbow (upside-down of course)... now maybe this isn't everybody's idea of happiness but listening to this album you'll be able to conjure up your own little idea of heaven this is the magic of 'Rocking Horse'.

Written over the last few years as Kelli embarked upon a journey across California and Mexico 'Rocking Horse' is infused with the idea of being on the open-road and living a free life, it's full of dreams, hopes, and wonder; but then I guess if you travel around Mexico with only a guitar (El Nino by the way) this is sort how you'd be wanting to picture everything. Returning and depositing herself in Scotland (Mexico to Scotland - nice climate change) with producer Max Richter, Kelli set about getting all those captured moments on record using a mixture of folk-based and string-laden instrumentation that give the ethereal representation of her dreamscape.

Opening with the flute speckled 'Dancing Bears' you are instantly reminded of the likes of Kate Bush and more recently Goldfrapp; which is especially true throughout, it's a simple entry to 'Rocking Horse' but a very effectual set-up to what follows in the delightfully whistful 'One Day At A Time' that provides Kelli with an almost childlike choir vocal that is sat on a bed of harmonic sounds and gentle guitar, this is a beautiful piece of music.

'The Savages' comes on like some kind of Robin Hood-era court strum, that though once again is musically beautiful i find it spoils the opening two tracks but this is more down to it's tone being slightly mournful. 'Heavens Door' is a return to simplicity but again it evokes the feeling of drifting off in a state of peace with Kelli gracefully intoning 'does your heart rest in tender flames/or is it a real bed of tears' it's like a little lullaby to a loved one. 'Urique' is all folk-based but again with huge emphasis on the flute to give the track more soul sitting nicely alongside Kelli's once more elphin sound.

Title track 'Rocking Horse' opens with an almost Moroccan vibe to it, with Kelli's vocal given just enough echo to be almost unsettling at times this is added to the guitar that is overlayed and the violin squeals that intersperse the track in addition to the haunting violin in the middle section and the lyrics 'happy ever after/hear the devils laughter/who will be your master/rocking horse' simply excellent track. And to follow the brood we get the lilting 'September Sky' which is exactly what the title suggests. 'Storm In A Teacup' is a little too Katie Melua sounding for my liking i can picture it as some kind of pop-chart thing she'd have and that's not exactly a good thing.

Back into the medievil tones with the instrumental (not counting Kelli's harmonies) 'The Kiss' but the difference being that this is like a beautifully crafted piece for a soundtrack of some oscar heavyweight costume-drama-wartime piece, i can picture it set to some kind of Saving Private Ryan war scene, very enchanting but with a hidden melancholy to it, again it's almost haunting. 'Flowers' continues in this vein with the operatic soundtrack quality of it, but this time we Kelli wrapping herself around the lyrics 'in my darkest hour/i know that your there/standing by the angel of dissent' think the scary parts of Alice In Wonderland.

Into the back stretch now with the piano-led 'Water Under The Bridge' the second half of this album has taken the dream-like qualities of the early part of the album and turned them into a lucid nightmare that's not necessarily in your face frightening but carries a hint of terror in the way the tracks hint at safety. 'What To Do' lifts the tension thankfully like a soothing nursery rhyme, before Kelli does it again and drops us back into 'The Kiss Epilogue' as if to unsettle us all over again if only very briefly.

So what to take from this album well first half - all lovely sweeping joy, second half - scary lullabies - there is some sort of rollercoaster thematicly to this album and I love it, I love not knowing if the next song is going to make me squirm in my seat or let me relax in soothing melody. One thing is for certain Kelli Ali is worth looking out for she deserves the acclaim that Miss Goldfrapp has enjoyed over the years as this is equal of anything she has produced, besides Kelli used to make Trip-Hop apparently, this is a beautiful departure.

http://www.myspace.com/kelliali