After a four-year hiatus following Finally Woken, Jem has made her way back Down To Earth — and it’s a fairly disappointing return to our lovely planet. Unavoidably sounding like Dido dipped in some extra bubblegum spunk (nothing of hers could beat the ultimate despair of “White Flag,” that’s for sure), Welsh singer Jemma Griffiths, better known as Jem, emerges with a mixed bag in her sophomore effort. While there are touches of catchiness in the beats, and some of the hooks simply can’t be denied, Down to Earth fails to reach the full potential demonstrated in Jem’s previous work.
Upon hearing advance single “It’s Amazing” — a catchy song reminiscent of Jem classics such as “Just a Ride” from Sex and the City — I held some optimism for Down to Earth. It is obvious to anyone listening to the album that there is a clear intent to diversify and dabble in a variety of genres. The songs also work to impart pearls of wisdom and messages of empathy and endurance, but at times the collective effort appears to be a bit of a hodgepodge.
The album begins with soft pianos and then twangy-guitar-infused beats to signal that Jem has arrived on Earth to observe the complexity of human life. Subsequent involuntary cringing on my part could not be helped. The songs that ensue reflect attempts to diversify — as seen in the use of the presumably forgotten instrument known as the banjo in “Crazy”, the Cuban salsa influence in “I Want You To...” and the gospel choir vocalists in “Keep on Walking.”
Beyond the subpar genre experimentation and sweet natured messages of empathy, endurance and self esteem in songs like “And So I Pray”, “Got It Good” and “You Will Make It” (come on, who doesn’t love a good song about self esteem?), there is also the evident theme of girl power. Like many artists before her, Jem makes it clear that despite the pressures of the music industry, she doesn’t give a flyin’ Fig Newton about what others think. In the undeniably catchy “I Always Knew”, she shows a more defensive side with lyrics such as, “Don’t hate me / I’m not so crazy / You’d be crazy that’s for sure / Becoming a b**** is not what I got into music for.”
Upon seeing that one of the tracks was titled “Aciid!” I jumped on the opportunity to check out a song that had to be named by means of either a hilarious dare, or, well, being under the influence. Sadly, the title was the most enjoyable part of the song, as the techno-filled (shocking, I know) jam has only very brief weak flashes of M.I.A. and a terribly cliché premise surrounding (of all things) shaking around. Mind boggling, I know.
While Down to Earth doesn’t have the same magic as Finally Woken — with only a few adequate songs such as “It’s Amazing” and “On Top of the World” — don’t be surprised if it isn’t surgically implanted into every nighttime soap opera this fall. If songs like “Keep on Walking” do not make it onto a Grey’s Anatomy episode, I will sincerely be shocked. All in all, Down to Earth isn’t able to provide quite as much of a fix as most fans would like. Still, this talented artist will surely be at it again soon, as she confidently chants, “as long as there’s music, I’ll be
here.”
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