Arielle – Analog Girl In A Digital World

After hearing and reviewing the ‘Peace Of Mind’ single by Arielle in February 2021 I took the bait due to the quality of the song but now I’ve fallen hook, line and sinker with her ninth studio album Analog Girl In A Digital World due for release on May 7th.

As well as being an adept chanteuse her guitar playing is of the highest order as she plays her self built Two -Tone guitar and her new signature guitar The Arielle, designed by herself and released by Brian May Guitars.

Album opener ‘Dialup’ is a short warning by Arielle of how much we rely on the internet every day as she asks “When the worldwide web crashes and there is no MP3’s or streams, what will be left?

This theme carries through to ‘Digital World’ as her lyrics portray how simple childhood was, an example being “There was a time we should have seen it, when we lived without the internet. Things were so much better then. Don’t wanna live in a digital World, take me back to the analog”.

I got plenty of peace of mind from ‘Peace Of Mind’ as it rises and falls on heart melting melodies served up by The Arielle and acoustic guitars pinned down by a soothing lead vocal.

Another angelic vocal comes from ‘This Is Our Intervention’ backed by shimmering guitar lines that heavy up into almost vintage Rush dynamics as she pitches her vocals higher as the song gets heavier towards a bombastic drum driven outro.

‘You’re Stiil A Man’ is a short but sweet good old dirt under the fingernails rock and roll hammered out with plenty of guts and glory.

Second single taken from the album ‘Inside And Outside, due for release on Friday 16th April is a poignant ballad to listen to on the porch whilst watching the rest of the World go by. Sparse guitar lines are backed by a simple, solid drum beat as a gently picked guitar solo heralds a muscled up outro of pleading vocals, an hypnotic guitar solo and heavier drum patterns.

Heaviest track comes from ‘I’d Rather Be In England’ and is also my favourite. It’s a full on riffathon with very incisive lyrics perfectly depicting English mannerisms. Choruses are full of folly and I guarantee you will be singing along to them! It heads off into a rollicking hoedown that includes a snippet of the National Anthem.

‘Living In A Fortress’ is an enchanting number of quirky lyrics performed with grace and eloquence as guitars are mainly acoustic to strip the song down to its bare bones.

This highly impressive album seems to end far too soon as it closes with ‘Reimagine Redefine’ that has a stunning choral like vocal backed by synths that ease into a beautiful second half of hypnotic vocals and a virtuoso guitar solo outro.

The songs on Analog Girl In A Digital World were recorded in one take and are half digital/half tape to capture the impact that 60’s/70’s music had on Arielle.

Pre-order links to the album and band info are here :- http://www.arielle.store ……https://shop.brianmayguitars.co.uk/products/bmg-arielle.html ……..https://www.facebook.com/the.official.arielle

Analog Girl In A Digital World album track listing :-

Dialup.

Digital World.

Peace Of Mind.

This Is Our Intervention.

You’re Still A Man.

Inside And Outside.

I’d Rather Be In England.

Living In A Fortess.

Reimagine Redefine.

Album credits :-

Arielle – Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals/Acoustic And Electric Guitars/Synths/Harmonium.

Justin Weaver – Electric And Acoustic Guitars.

Kate Haldrup – Drums.

Michael Davila – Drums.

Bill Levsey – Keyboards/Piano/Organ/Rhodes/Harmonium.

A J Vincent – Hammond/Piano/Synths.

Nick Byrd – Bass Guitar.

Devin North – Bass Guitar.

Guthrie Brown – Backing Vocals.