This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Album Reviews
Album Review: Kelli Ali – Rocking Horse (One Little Indian)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 24 November 2008
Those who are not familiar with Kelli Ali’s solo work may remember her as the lead singer of underrated trip-hoppers The Sneaker Pimps, where she provided the vocals for their internationally successful debut album, ‘Becoming X’. Since parting ways with the band in 1996, she has gone on to release two solo albums and has collaborated with artists such as Marilyn Manson, The Doors’ John Densmore, Brian Ferry and Paul Oakenfold. ‘Rocking Horse’, Ali’s third release, is a collection of yarns inspired by her travels of recent years that brought her primarily to the dusty roads of California and Mexico. Gone is the dub-pop trend of old and in its place is a sound that is noticeably closer to her heart. Rich with the textured, folky harmonies of violins, wind instruments and campfire-tinged acoustics, ‘Rocking Horse’ is a record that takes the evocative cadence of Ali’s vocals to new and spellbinding heights. Stand out tracks include the album’s own title song, a rolling acoustic journey with a beautiful violin solo vaguely similar to Patrick Wolf’s ‘Wind In The Wires’. ‘A Storm In A Teacup’ is a delicate and playfully titled tune, and yet again it is the use of strings that invoke its gentle melancholy. It is hard to compare Ali to anyone else out there, and difficult again to relate ‘Rocking Horse’ to another record. Both are in a league of their own and reminiscent of no clear other, and while some listeners may find her difficult to understand, it is her free-spirited quirkiness that makes Kelli Ali so special. TW
Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon
