{"id":3445,"date":"2015-06-03T13:53:32","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T17:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=3445"},"modified":"2015-06-12T13:23:43","modified_gmt":"2015-06-12T17:23:43","slug":"roisin-murphy-hairless-toys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/roisin-murphy-hairless-toys\/","title":{"rendered":"Roisin Murphy <br>Hairless Toys"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/roisin_murphy-hairless_toys.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3446\" src=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/roisin_murphy-hairless_toys.jpg\" alt=\"roisin_murphy-hairless_toys\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/roisin_murphy-hairless_toys.jpg 250w, https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/roisin_murphy-hairless_toys-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a>\u201cUnpredictability\u201d seems to be the quality least appreciated when it comes to pop stars, even though it\u2019s only a slight twist to change \u201cunpredictable\u201d into \u201cversatile.\u201d In general, though, music fans like versatility because unpredictability makes them nervous. Roisin Murphy is unpredictable. She emerged in 1995 as one half of Moloko, a group initially part of that generation\u2019s class of moody trip-hoppers, but over the course of their career eventually moved into unabashed dancefloor stompers like the hit \u201cSing It Back.\u201d When Murphy went solo, most expected her to continue in the vein of Moloko\u2019s biggest hits. Instead, she took a twisty path. By the time she landed in the \u201clogical\u201d position of dancefloor commander with 2007\u2019s <i>Overpowered<\/i>, the unpredictability came back to haunt her as the record was unfairly overlooked. Unfaltering, though, she went on to release a grab bag of standalone singles, collaborate with a wide variety of acts, and release an EP inspired by Italian pop.<\/p>\n<p>Her latest, <i>Hairless Toys<\/i> (PIAS Recordings) isn\u2019t an attempt to right the ship or even to present a streamlined version of what Murphy does. It\u2019s a slow-burning dance record with diversions into country &amp; western lullabies. It\u2019s a moody twilight record with jazzy folk overtones. It\u2019s a house record with a trip-hop heart. Ultimately, though, it\u2019s undeniably Murphy. With all the different styles going on\u2014many at the same time\u2014the record should be a mess, but Murphy manages to weave everything into a cohesive sonic fabric. A more nervous performer would perhaps be tempted to smooth the edges, but she seems more than happy to show where the rivets and joints connect. And if it takes a couple of minutes for a track to build into its final form, that\u2019s quite alright. There\u2019s a lot that straight up shouldn\u2019t work\u2014the queasy bassline of \u201cExplotation,\u201d the high lonesome \u201cExile,\u201d the \u201980s R&amp;B breakdown of \u201cEvil Eyes\u201d\u2014yet everything is presented in such a way that it just makes sense. In fact, it seems like the most logical result.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the sonic risks taken, Murphy is just as bold with her lyrics. Whether she\u2019s commiserating with outcasts trying to build a new home (\u201cGone Fishing\u201d) or trying to connect with a love on the title track, everything sounds honest and true. Combined with her vocal performance, which reveals at turns strength, vulnerability, and the occasional flash of humor, she ably pulls the listener into each song\u2019s world. Aiding such gravity is the fact that every song is tightly interwoven so as to demand closer attention. It\u2019s tempting to say that <i>Hairless Toys<\/i> is Murphy\u2019s best, but really it\u2019s the singer delivering, as always, at a predictably high level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cUnpredictability\u201d seems to be the quality least appreciated when it comes to pop stars, even though it\u2019s only a slight twist to change \u201cunpredictable\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[34,1294,1295],"class_list":["post-3445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-review","tag-pias-recordings","tag-roisin-murphy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Roisin Murphy Hairless Toys - The Agit Reader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/roisin-murphy-hairless-toys\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Roisin Murphy Hairless Toys - The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cUnpredictability\u201d seems to be the quality least appreciated when it comes to pop stars, even though it\u2019s only a slight twist to change \u201cunpredictable\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/roisin-murphy-hairless-toys\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-03T17:53:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-12T17:23:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/roisin_murphy-hairless_toys.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dorian S. 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