REVIEW: Nina Gordon, Tonight And The Rest Of My Life (Warner)
- Paul Andersen
If the name Nina Gordon sounds familiar to you, it is because she was a co-founder of Veruca Salt, the quartet best known for the smash hits "Seether" and "Volcano Girls," both of which were penned and sung by Gordon. But if you are familiar with that band's work, you'll be in for a surprise here, because the Gordon on display within this album shows more of a singer/songwriter's heart than any seething rocker's vibe.
But that is not to say that her former group doesn't have a part in the music here. According to Gordon, the band disintegrated (though they've just released their own album with a new line-up on Beyond Records) amidst a "highly charged atmosphere," and that break-up is part of what caused Gordon to look within and change the way she writes. For once, she is writing for herself, and no one else.
The thirteen songs here (12 originals, and a wonderfully rendered version of the classic "The End of the World," which is a perfect closer to the album) reflect a cathartic release of tension and a renewed wonderment with the world in general. Surprisingly, the result is a work teeming with pop rather than rock, and much of the wordplay is teasing rather than edgy. Gordon always had a centerpiece voice that was pleasing to the ears, and unlike a lot of her compatriots in the feminine side of rock, her vocals sound wonderful in her new pop-like framework. It's a voice that could easily lend itself well to the singer/songwriter ranks of the Lilith brigade.
All in all, it is a surprisingly uplifting debut well worthy of a listen. I heartily recommend it.
