CALIFORNIALAND by Niina Soleil
Sometimes social media does link you up with the right sounds. Sometimes.
I spent today’s walk to the office listening to Niina Soleil. I’m not going to try and describe her music. Yes, I am. There’s a certain jazz flavour, some soul. Best of all, there is an enormous sense of humour. This is desert soul-jazz. But I can’t do any better than her own bio.
Known to gossip with full moons and greet the rising sun, Los Angeles native Niina Soleil has a heart that beats in one long love letter to California. An architect of technicolor dreams, Niina is liquid sunshine splashed with country twang. She is a go-go-boot-wearing siren with an imagination as vivid and doomed as a tarot reading. She resuscitates the lilting melodies of seventies pop with vocals that transition seamlessly from melancholy to playful, sincere to chiding.
Gossiping with the moon! Hello Kitty Coen fans! This one is for you. And my algorithm thinks there are similarities with Cat Burns and Donna Missal too.
Although the new album is not quite out yet, there are several singles to plot a course by. The title, CALIFORNIALAND, immediately called to mind that long-forgotten housing development called HOLLYWOODLAND. Perhaps you have heard of it?
Music should be about the music, of course. We all agree on that. The music needs to be A1 to cut through the noise these days. (Is that A-One or AI? Ed.) But when an artist brings a look, a persona and a ZFG attitude it really helps, and just one reel from Niina convinced me that she is the full package.
There are a few contemporary artists that really sell an attitude, not least Kassi Ashton and Cyrena Wages. They bring the music, of course, but they bring that little bit more somehow, the icing on the cake. The coke on the mirror. This might be the land of the Valley of the Dolls, that iconic Jacqueline Susann novel.
My favourite of the new ones was the first, Welcome to the Dream. This is when the party is just getting going. Kick off your shoes, chillax. This is the best place on earth. But is that lady in the middle really human? She’s either on drugs or a robot. Oh no, is it too soon to leave? Even this banging optimisitic opener is tinged with warning signs.
Welcome to the Dream of California!
Come on, swim the seas where I was born-ia!
Kick off your shoes, kick off your blues,
But baby, I should warn ya-
Things ain't all they seem
Ramblin’ runs it a close second. It called to mind Stuck in the Middle with You by Steelers Wheel. I love it. It’s a great chuggin’ driving song. Not too slow to open up the V8 on the dark desert highway.
In Life & Times of a Wannabe Rockstar we have a moment of reflection. A quiet opening with only an acoustic guitar, this one really shows Niina’s range. And yes, you need both eyes, it’s not Nina.
Sleep in your denim and stay up for the sunrise
Empty bellies sing elegies of last night
We're crawling into the light
Life and times of a wannabe rockstar
Every song has something different to offer. I was drawn to Happy Pills, partly through my own experiences with such. The last of the new ones, actually the most recent to be released, is Tequila Tears. This is a darker, Amy Winehouse vibe.
I tell him, "Listen to yourself and take a hint-
It wasn't like she was some saint, can't you admit
That she was cruel to you?"
But he just sighs and rolls his eyes.
"She was the devil,
But I could never tell her no."
Tequila tears begin to roll
You can catch Niina on tour right now! Well, in August. Tickets here. Her full website is here and you can find her links and email list here.
