Nelly Furtado's 'Maneater'

It's the new Toxic! I heard this song yesterday and I've been completely loving it since. I always love synth pop, but what this does is blend a strong synth line with a more hip-pop chorus making for a really cool song. The song starts with that nasty driving synth part, and I love the way her vocals match exactly with the feel of the synth. I always like songs where the vocal is pushed down in the mix and made to feel more like an instrument. Her singing's great, but what makes it work so well is the fact that the vocal and the synth are perfectly matched.

From there, the song goes into the chorus. The chorus goes for a higher, almost cascading feel, taking you briefly out of the din of the synth driven verse. I really like the way that she stretches out the first syllable of man in maneater then speeds through the rest of the words in the chorus to catch up. And the transition between the chorus and the verse is fantastic, as that synth line rears up and is soon matched by her vocal.

I've listened to a lot of European pop stuff recently, like Goldfrapp and Rachel Stevens, and I love the smooth synth-ness of their songs. This song takes some of that feel, but makes the synth darker, a bit more hip hop, creating a whole different experience. It's a bit like the stuff off Gwen Stefani's album, but without the 80s pastiche. But just listening to this thing, it's clearly a fantastic piece of work, a perfect pop song.

Promiscuous Girl is a great song as well, so I'm really psyched to hear her whole album.



Related Posts
Pop! (2/27/2005)
Gwen Stefani: Love Angel Music Baby (3/20/2006)
Goldfrapp @ Irving Plaza (5/16/2006)