Natalie Imbruglia landed upon an interesting concept for her 5th album: take 12 songs written by male singer/songwriters and recast them as feminine. For Imbruglia, this means reviving the hazy focus of her global blockbuster Torn, a feel created with soft, strummed guitars and clear vocals, a sound that suits a middle-aged singer as comfortably as it does a young one, perhaps even a touch better.
There are covers of Daft Punk, Death Cab for Cutie, and Iron & Wine, but she grafts a Mumford & Sons folk-stomp onto the Cure's "Friday I'm in Love," then gently pushes Tom Petty's "The Waiting" toward a tapped folk rhythm. Everything is so sweet and light, it's difficult to discern whether Imbruglia's choice of songs is meant to convey something greater than that these are a bunch of nice tunes. Certainly, the concept of Male suggests there might be a conceptual undertow to the album -- Imbruglia finding the femininity in masculine writers -- but Imbruglia chooses songs where sexuality is incidental; these are love songs that are easily retooled for the opposite sex.
- Number of discs: 1
- Limited to 1500 Copies Worldwide
- Release date: 31/03/2023
- All vinyl new and sealed