Lord have mercy on my soul. There’s new Natalie Merchant. I have to thank our timeline on Spoutible, the sane, calm, and less hate filled answer to Twitter, for putting “Tower of Babel” on my radar.
Because it’s goddamn brilliant.
“Tower of Babel” is from Natalie’s forthcoming album, Keep Your Courage, which will be out on April 14th.
Let’s talk about music first.
The cowbell sets the tone, the click track so to speak, and then the horns kick in.
THE HORNS!
THE SAX!
Put a fork in me I am mother f’n done. Natalie wins. There’s a glorious low key piano that sashays and sways with pure seduction which is only amplified by the brush strokes on the drums (it could be a shaker I’m hearing, I don’t have the ability to isolate parts of a song to be sure). The drums are smooth and heady and the bass is deliciously heavy and low with a rumble that mirrors Natalie’s beautiful alto range.
Natalie’s voice has aged like a fine cask of whiskey. If her voice were a colour spectrum, she’s dripping in deep yellow, ambers, and setting sun oranges. Natalie has always had one of the finest and most beautiful female voices in the rock and alternative genre and “Tower of Babel” confirms she still does. I have yet to hear anyone that can compare to her depth, range, and expression and I doubt I ever will.
Do yourself a favour and listen to this gloriously wonderful song below.
