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Bic Runga – Try to Remember Everything (Rare and Unreleased) Review

25 April 2009, Coko @ 8:00 pm

I’m having a pretty hard time finding ‘new’ music to listen to these days. Most works fall into the mainstream category or just plainly don’t make the cut to deserve a review. My friend has been trying to get me to listen to Bic Runga for a while now, I guess today is as good as any to succumb to her request.

So, who is Bic Runga? Bic Runga is a New Zealand singer-songwriter, best known for the track Sway on the American Pie soundtrack. Try to Remember Everything is a compilation of rare and unreleased material recorded over the 12 years of Bic Runga’s career. For those not entirely familiar with Bic Runga, like moi, this is a good record to get to know her vibe. And it’s a great vibe by the way. Her voice is soothing, simple and gentle. I like it. Her tracks are again – simplistic in melody, but still very good. She reminds of that girl who made it big on YouTube and even got a record deal off doing the acoustic version of Umbrella, Marie Digby. Sorry, I mean Marie Digby reminds me of Bic Runga, who’s been out for over 10 years.

Most of the tracks sound incredibly similar, to the point of absolutely no variety in vocals, melodies or subject matter. The tracks are of Bic Runga singing to an acoustic guitar or light strings, soft vocals, with quiet melodies. Bic Runga is no doubt a good vocalist. She doesn’t do vocal gymnastics, which I hate. Her topics and melodies are reserved for the sullen rainy days by the window, curled up with a good book.

Overall, I like the album, but it makes me miss Fiona Apple’s intensity.

My favourite tracks: A Day Like Today, The Daily Grind, Strangers Again and Dust

You can find the CD here.

Bic Runga – Sway

Bic Runga – The Daily Grind

Bic Runga – A Day Like Today

Bic Runga – Dust

Tracks:
1. All Fall Down
2. The Daily Grind
3. Blue Blue Heart
4. Gracie
5. A Day Like Today
6. Strangers Again
7. Autumn Leaves
8. Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart
9. Dust
10. Drive
11. Everyone Must Love
12. Gravity
13. Sway
14. Close The Door, Put Out The Light

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Filed under: Bic Runga

Tags: album

9 Comments

1. shotbro — April 26, 2009 @ 3:43 am
   
   

   Bic Runga is one of NZ’s nicest exports; but not the most ‘intense’ of artists…still this version of ‘Delight’ (done for RadioNZ) has to be one of her finest moments.

   http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/4/12/2401154/Delight.mp3




2. DNfromMN — April 27, 2009 @ 12:13 pm
   
   

   Thanks for posting these! I wasn’t aware of a new release from her since Beautiful Collision.




3. Justinsight — May 13, 2009 @ 6:12 pm
   
   

   I don’t think this is a good example of where Bic’s at. I’d direct people to “Birds” (her most recent album)… you’ll hear something much stronger and more complex – not just sweet vocals and acoustic guitar.n




4. Coko — May 13, 2009 @ 6:39 pm
   
   

   I’ve heard the album “Birds”, it is sweet vocals and acoustic guitar’n. Plus, Try To Remember is a compilation of unreleased materials over 12 years, it doesn’t necessarily represent her current ‘artistic’ self.




5. N.drew — August 22, 2010 @ 6:43 am
   
   

   I wholeheartedly agree with Justinsight, who would recommend a rarities compilation as an album to get into an artist? Studio recordings (5) are mixed with demos (2) and live recordings (7) — this makes the compilation quite uneven. Coko, on “Birds” acoustic guitar is quite hard to notice (apart from a few tracks), and the vocals are rather bittersweet than just sweet. The string arrangements transport the songs to a new dimension. ‘Say After Me,’ ‘Captured,’ ‘If I Had You,’ and ‘Blue Blue Heart’ are my favourites.




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