BLUESBUNNY, Glasgow, Scotland.
How would a man on this side of the pond know what a woman in Nashville is thinking about? All you need is the Internet and some mp3s and you too could get to know Michele Ari. You certainly wouldn't call this lady vacuous or shallow as she turns the spotlight on her soul. Starting off with 6 a.m., she goes all confessional on the relationships with guys who are most definitely unsuitable cases for treatment. We aren't talking Carly Simon here either as the result seems to be a rather more quixotic approach that leads a woman to take what she can get even the benefits are few and far between. That inevitability of isolation and the perhaps consequent urge for self destruction creeps in again on Atom Bombs but Transatlantic Love Affair shows there's always hope even in matters of long distance love. These songs ring true (even if you are a guy and therefore on the wrong side of the fence) and that makes the post punk songs on this EP all the more resonant. With so much faith placed in transitory fame these days, it's a relief to encounter an artist who tells it straight. It's actually difficult to do but Ms Ari neatly avoids the pit of angst and self pity and makes it all real for us. I've never even met her and I already like her.
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE, Tampa, Florida, Curtis Ross, Music Critic and Features Writer.
Michele Ari has relocated to Nashville, but Tampa area fans remember her as a vital part of the scene when she lived here. Compared with her 2005 EP, 85th and Nowhere, mal a'propos shows significant growth - tighter songwriting, more adventurous arrangements and stronger vocals. Opener 6 AM concerns the bad-for-you lovers you can't seem to let go of. Boxes shows off some punky anger and energy, and Transatlantic Love Affair and Atom Bombs draw inspiration from Ari's ties with London. Mal a' propos defies the girl-with-acoustic-guitar image while capturing some of the spirit of Ari's live performances.
GAPERS BLOCK, Chicago, Illinois Jason Behrends
When you visit the myspace page of Michele Ari the heading reads, "The Front Man is a Girl," and for some reason reading that sparked something in me. These days there are thousands of female vocals and many fine female singers right here in Chicago. However, is there a difference between a vocalist and frontman? I say yes, and Michele Ari is a bona fide frontman. Her and her band, based in Nashville, just released her second album mal a' propos and the first two tracks, 6am and Boxes are currently streaming at Fearless Radio. There is a strength and a confidence in Michele's voice that fits perfectly the contemporary alt-pop backing. It's nothing complicated or groundbreaking, but there is always room for well-written pop. The frontman is the center piece, the attention getter, and the hook, and Michele is all of those things and more.
Michele is coming to Chicago on November 21st and will first be playing at the Fearless Radio's studio at 4:00pm and then be playing with one of my favorite new local bands The Streets of Fire at Cal's. The Streets on Fire also just released an album, their debut, and are proving that lo-fi funk is not dead in this town. I recommend you stop by Cal's on the 21st to check out both Michele Ari and The Streets on Fire.
COLLECTED SOUNDS, Sweden, Anna Maria Stjarnell
Michele Ari is a gifted artist and her latest release is a short yet sweet ep that should win her many new fans. 6 am is a depiction of a one-night stand that sees her chant to a Blondie-like tune. Ari’s vocal is sweet but has an edge here. Atom Bombs is an appealing song with Ari’s singing at its best. The rockin’ tune is a bit like the Pretenders at their best.
Don’t Go is a tough, seemingly poppy track with Ari at her most confident and sweet. Her ep’s a real treat and hopefully she’ll make a longer record soon.
SUBBA-CULTCHA, London, England, Alan Baillie
With a voice like this her life was surely always going to take this path. What a tragic waste of such natural ability had it not! Michele Ari sings in a way that most people could only ever hope for. She has such melodic pull. A capability to evoke countless emotions. It’s a haunting almost. A subtle presence that gently ghosts you, yet so firm in it’s manifestation! It’s the perfect narrator for her lyrics, bringing an intensity of unquestionable depth!
85th and Nowhere is a 6 track mini album of considerable ambience. An inspired vehicle in which to introduce us to Michele. Opening song My Sleeping Beauty is an achingly heartfelt composition that seems to combine bitterness and poignancy together in uncontrived similarity. A penetrating insight I’m sure! Second track Please and third one 85th and Nowhere have bounciness, good guitars and rock n roll drum beats. The former containing a lyrically acerbic outpouring of frustrating anger, and the title track, with a new wave kinda feel to it, finds Michele sounding like Deborah Harry did when she was at her best in the 80’s.
Nevermind is a call to arms for reckless abandonment and self indulgence and it’s all wrapped up and complimented by excellent guitar riffs. But the gorgeous ballad Pretty is where her voice is most powerful. A full and infiltrating richness so overwhelming and formidable nothing could ever possibly distract from this! The album closes with the acoustic, summertime sounding jangle of 1,000 Kisses and it’s lyrical leanings that suggest someone is falling in love, or at least liking someone enough to want to kiss them 1000 times. It’s an endearingly lovely smiley joyous song and an inspired choice to end on!
WHISPERIN AND HOLLERIN, UK, Adam Harrington
Remember the climax of 10,000 Maniacs' Eat for Two when Natalie Merchant's bare voice fades from view with the fragility of a little girl? That's how Florida-based singer/songwriter Michele Ari's debut album, 85th and Nowhere, opens with the jangling first cut My Sleeping Beauty. Sounding nothing like most of today's few female alternative-rock vocalists, who are often lacking the emotional rush of their '80s predecessors, Ari has a bittersweet vocal style that is at once enigmatic and revealing.
My Sleeping Beauty spellbinds with its jagged, ringing guitars a la vintage Peter Buck and Ari's stormy-day singing. It's the perfect song for an evening drive, filled with mystery and mesmerizing chime. Please continues to the record's hypnotic pull, and it becomes obvious that there is an undeniable power in Ari's voice. Like Merchant, her vocals grab the ears and refuse to part with them. She isn't seducing the listener as much as putting them in a trance.
Nevermind and 1,000 Kisses flirt with country inspirations; however, the bulk of 85th and Nowhere is a throwback to moody mid-'80s college rock. The self-deprecating Pretty is Ari's little masterpiece, as haunting as the Velvet Underground's Femme Fatale. It's a track that R.E.M. will probably want to cover, too. Ari's melancholic singing on Pretty is heartbreaking and astonishing.
THE WIG FITS ALL HEADS, SEATTLE, Karla Ash
Michele Ari is not cut from the same cloth as most of today’s female rockers. While guitar-strapped chicks these days seem to take their cues from either Courtney Love or Jewel, Ari seems indifferent to both. In fact, there’s nothing on 85th and Nowhere that suggests she even listened to either artist, as the dominant sound here is left-of-the-dial riff rock. Her setup is guitar-bass-drums but nothing that’ll bleed the ears. She’s not into cranking the amps; instead, as on the first tune My Sleeping Beauty, her and her rhythm section lock onto a groove and don’t let go. Less than two decades ago songs such as My Sleeping Beauty were common on college radio. And, no, that’s not a knock on her lack of originality as she’s summoning, not plagiarizing, what worked in the past. Although the music is dated by the memories they revive, it’s actually timeless.
Ari has a pleasing, pleasant voice. She has that girl-next-door quality to her singing that is appealing and was once considered sexy by campus DJs--probably still is. She reaches the highest of highs on Pretty, a brutally honest look at her insecurities that seems to have been ripped from a diary. This is a subtle, emotionally powerful record that is personal and addicting. Keep an eye out for this lady; she is going places."
INK 19, Kyrby Raines
Don't misunderstand -- the Collegiate Girl is not a singular person. Rather, it's almost like a genre. Back in the late '80s, there were a number of female artists, such as 10,000 Maniacs, Suzanne Vega and Edie Brickell, who rebelled against the superficial pop of Madonna, opting for well-written verses and a down-to-earth image and voice. Ever since the arrival of Tori Amos and Hole in the early '90s, though, that all changed. It wasn't cool -- or commercially viable enough -- for a woman to write smart, poetic lyrics without an accompanying rage.
Singer/songwriter Michele Ari doesn't sound angry at all; what was once the alternative is now the alternative to the alternative. Yes, Ari is old school; the jangling guitars on My Sleeping Beauty could've been found on any Guadalcanal Diary record in a campus station's vinyl archives. Her vocals are subdued, moody and very pretty on Pretty, a revealing look at a woman's psyche when her self-confidence has eroded and all she feels she has left is her physical beauty. Pretty epitomizes the Collegiate Girl mystique: wounded, intelligent and dark. Ari probably cried to Morrissey songs in her dorm room -- and we certainly need more women like that. At times, she sounds a little bit like Chrissie Hynde, although not as ticked off.
Those who miss the Collegiate Girl will be kicking themselves if they pass this up.
COLLECTED SOUNDS, SWEDEN, Anna-Maria Starjnell, Editor
Michele Ari has a terrific voice and a smart way with words. Her debut album is a confident collection of songs. My Sleeping Beauty has a ringing guitar and a wistful lyric of faded love. Please is an up-tempo song that instantly memorable. Ari sings a strong lead while Ronny Elliott provides a nice backing vocal. Nevermind starts with the intriguing lyric “Woke up in last nights makeup”. It’s musically reminiscent of Nick Lowe’s early eighties sound. The country-tinged 1,000 Kisses closes the brief but sweet collection. Michele Ari is an talented new artist.
GIRLPOSSE.COM, US, Jacob Dykstra
Florida-based singer/songwriter Michele Ari doesn't sound young. No, that's not meant to be an insult. A quick glance at the pictures on her site (http://www.micheleari.com) reveales her to be a youthful, attractive woman and not an old hag. But she's not a kid unlike most of the female singers today.
Back in the '70s and '80s, there were no rocker girls; there were only women. Sure, exceptions like the Go-Go's and the Bangles did exist, and Madonna was already a star barely out of her teens. However, for the most part the industry signed grown-up chicks.
Ari is a flashback to those days when female musicians were mature and somewhat classy, the complete opposite of babies such as Britney Spears and teen-angst monsters like Courtney Love.
The music on Ari's debut EP, 85th and Nowhere, has a dusty, low-fi sound; the guitars sound brittle and mysterious, especially on the opening track, My Sleeping Beauty. This is not rock & roll for kids in the sense that they'll have no sense of identification with the enigmatic lyrics and the vintage left-of-the-dial rhythms that Ari is reaching back for. You can feel Ari's emotions building up with each track, setting them loose with the disconsolate Pretty, which Patsy Cline would've crooned if she were still alive today.
This is a small record with big feelings, and they reverberate through the skin upon Ari's gently sung every word.
INDIE-MUSIC.COM, Jennifer Layton, Assistant Editor
Ari is going more for the intellect than the impulse.
"Sometimes all I’ve got is 'pretty' when all else seems to fail ..."
Despite her misgivings in the fifth track of 85th and Nowhere, Michele Ari has a lot more going for her than just pretty. She picks up the mantle dropped in the late 90s by Natalie Merchant (and stomped on over the past decade by the neverending parade of pop princesses), shakes it out, and tries it on. Not a bad fit.
Because it’s been a while since we’ve heard the female collegiate singer/songwriter style, it does take a couple of songs to adjust. Think more performance art poetry than pop charts. Ari is going more for the intellect than the impulse. Once you let go of the need for glitter and glam, you can get lost in these six musing tracks and their honest introspection. You can even appreciate the contrast of a sweet, 60s folkie voice singing modern jangly pop/rock.
The standout is the title track – very Debbie Harry, with elements of 80s new wave in the music. I also liked the smouldering, tragic vibe of Pretty.
I doubt we’ve seen the last of her. At least I hope not. This album fills a void in today’s top ten, infusing it with some much needed sophistication and thoughtful songcrafting."
FLORIDA ENTERTAINMENT SCENE, Liz Fernandez
This six song self released album, 85th and Nowhere, reveals a classic sound that is very soft on the ears and enriching to the soul. Singer/songwriter Michele Ari emanates tales of heart break and falling in love in her strong, easy flowing, smoky voice that resembles Chrissie Hynde. Her analog recorded tracks give this album a very raw feel allowing
the simplicity of the guitar, drums and piano to resonate.
The second song on her album, Please, has a very 70's sound, unquestionably reminding me of The Pretenders. The subtle male backing harmonies effortlessly compliment Michele as she sings about waiting for yet another fall back in a relationship.
85th and Nowhere, is the third track and yet another that I really enjoyed. It demonstrates how her simple song writing style can say so much. Anyone can relate to what she’s been through. She goes on to sing that she’s “sitting in that café in NY wondering how I’d pay my rent” and that she sacrificed everything for the one she loves and is now found in this situation. This song is fun because it’s more upbeat and sounds almost like a Go Go's song from the 1980's. For those of you who missed out on that generation, listening to this
song will remind you of how great the 80's were!
Pretty, is one of the last tracks and I must have played it a dozen times. It’s got a very blues and melancholy feel during the verses and the song picks up more in the
chorus. The music demonstrates a very longing feel that matches her ever so longing lyrics. The guitar solo is very romantic and the piano adds the final touch to a perfect song.
The last song is a great choice for a last song. It’s got a very “happy ending” feel to it. It is titled 1,000 Kisses, and it is a relief to see that she was able to get through the
trials and tribulations of life and is on her way to the right path.
It is obvious that Michele is a very poignant song writer, delivering a CD that carries you through a journey in life. It is very easy listening and relaxing. I would definitely play
it while reading my favorite book under a cozy tree on a late Spring afternoon and then play it again and again the next day and thereon after.
