Virgin Records; July 2007
Upon first listen, I double-checked the CD case, thinking I had bought a new Cranberries album. One Cell in the Sea sounds like the early ’90s, when major labels were eating up anyone who sounded deep and had some quiet to go with their intensity. Listening to A Fine Frenzy with a 2007 calendar in front of me, the first person who came to mind was Freddie Mercury. Operatic, piano-based, precious, and a bit too ornamental for me, Alison Sudol likely has notebooks full of her stream-of-consciousness ramblings, and I’m glad there is an audience for her.