Driving rock.
Never mind the fact that there have been plenty of warnings about road conditions and the traffic on the road this week is heavily congested, Ida Maria want you to ‘Drive Away My Heart’ and as she sings it so well, its not a request that is out of the question.
It’s a basic scuzzy rock n roll number that harks at decades of classic pop and as every thumping drum fill builds in the son, you get the impression that theres something anthemic at work here. In the live arena, it would probably be even more impressive and rock out even harder but on record, it does a good job.
Theres a section where the voice gets so croaky and heartfelt that you immediately think its Rod Stewart, and that’s good era Rod Stewart when he sang songs that meant something and he didn’t look ridiculous. You may not believe us but there was a time when Rod was indeed the Mod and kicked arse so for Ida to earn that comparison is a pretty good thing and she wears it well. If that was all the vocal capability she has it would be worth a listen but on the basis of the two songs here, Ida Maria appears to be a versatile talented singer.
At times her Scandanivan lilt shines through (Ida hails from Norway) and when the music spikes up a tone or two, the anger and spark fights through like Jenny Lewis on an all night whiskey bender, yes, there are a few tricks up the sleeve of this young front-woman.
And maybe Ida Maria have been listening to a lot of old school acts because the chorus in ‘Leave Me, Let Me Go’ bears an uncanny resemblance to The Travelling Wilburys ‘Handle With Care’, which is lucky as it’s a cracking tune and manages to sound alright, even in this modern world.
So, Ida Maria may not be the most original of acts these days, but then again, who is? Truly original acts are usually the ones that are rubbish and sound like no one else because they aren’t good enough to, so don’t always take a sense of the familiar as being a bad thing. As a quick one-two, this bundle from Ida Maria hits the spot for lovers of good music played the way it used to be made.