Ball State Daily News
excerpt from page 6, Volume 79, No 78

Album centers lyrics around simplicity

"Every once in a while, a female musician comes along and rocks the boat of music just enough to make a few waves. In the past, musicians like Sarah McLachlan, Bjork and Tori Amos all made enough noise to gain the attention of fans and critics alike.

"A new artist, Simone Grey, the voice of Bare Wire, may just be the next to take the boat out for a ride. Bare Wire's album, 'Delicatessen,' is a moody mix of sounds that combines Portishead with Dead Can Dance and a splash of Enigma. Although the 'band' is composed of only one woman, she fills the spot beautifully.

"Bare Wire isn't a hard-hitting album full of radio-ready hits, but it is an interesting album worthy of being checked out.

"The tracks are rather short in length, but Grey's voice has an eerie sound that entrances the audience to listen to her tales of love, heartache and life. 'Here are my cold cuts -- my story, my existence, my demise, on display for all to see, to ridicule, to judge. Anyone can buy and eat or just walk away. Anyone can make me, break me or ignore me. Go ahead, you decide,' [as] said in her liner notes.

"So far, Bare Wire's challenge has been accepted by over 76 stations across the United States and abroad, including WCRD 91.3 FM, one of Ball State's radio stations.

"Instead of spending lots of money on flashy album covers and booklets, Bare Wire keeps it simple with black and white photos of women in different forms adorning the front and inside of the liner notes. Lyrics to the songs are also provided, giving the audience the opportunity to follow along on the musical journey of the album.

"Looking at the lyrics, one might notice a simplistic but meaningful style similar to Nine Inch Nails on the albums 'Downward Spiral' and 'Pretty Hate Machine.'

"Some of the gems on 'Delicatessen' include track number one, 'Verisimilitude,' which starts off with Grey crooning 'I know I said I'm fine, but I lied.'

"The one flaw of the album is a lack of any real drastic changes in the styles of sounds in the songs. In some ways this works, for example if the listener isn't concentrating on the album, but instead using it as background music while studying or sleeping.

"In other ways, this style leaves the listener feeling like they're hearing one continuous track and may cause some to grow weary of the album.

"Overall, 'Delicatessen' is a nice start to a promising career for Grey. Hopefully on her next album, Grey will continue to grow, taking the best parts of her previous work and building on them."

-- Angela Manginelli, Chief Reporter

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