This is about as near to pop music as Heather gets.  Sweetness and light spring to mind when I listen to this album - the result is that Ms Nova's twee form is very uplifting, especially on "Talk to Me", "I'm No Angel", "When Somebody Turns You On" and "Virus of the Mind".    "Gloomy Sunday" (which apparently was written as a theme for a film) and "Just Been Born" however have darker tones, which I have come to associate with this artist through her earlier music.   By way of contrast, "Help Me Be Good to You" has soul/blues overtones and I suspect that Sam Brown could belt out a cracking version of it.  To sum up, this album is very refreshing.

Rating: *****

Date of Review: 05.10.02

For further info go to http://www.heathernova.org/

Apparently Heather was holed up in a cottage by the sea when she wrote this album, which is inspired by life and love. There appear to be quite a few similarities with other artists' styles on here, for instance "Blood of Me" and parts of "Avalanche" could have been done by All About Eve in the mid 80's. "I'm the Girl" is in Garbage's vein, whereas the raunchy "Make You Mine" would be quite at home on one of P J Harvey's albums. Heather's delivery on "Widescreen" has that same laid back quality and Americanized sound which Sheryl Crow is renowned for. Not to be missed is "Winter Blue" with its raging strings. Strings in one form or another feature on other tracks too. In fact, much more use of other instruments (including a Hawaiian lap guitar - "Paper Cup") is made on this album, compared to Heather's previous albums which were far simpler. However there is still the odd simple acoustic track (like "Not Only Human") on Siren. On the whole, a very enjoyable and listenable album indeed.

Rating: *****

Date of Review: 23.08.98

Heather Nova - Oyster (Album)

Year of Release: 1994

Aptly named album: when Ms. Nova sings her voice befits that of a mermaid and with a track entitled "Island" the watery images manifest themselves. The voice is beautiful. I think Heather must have been referring to herself on the track "Maybe an Angel", since the tones are angelic. However at times the voice reaches such high octaves that it can be excruciating until your eardrums become comfortable with it. There are some up tempo tracks and even on these, Ms. Nova's voice is not out of place.

Rating: *****

Date of Review: 01.08.95

Year of Release: 1993

Having heard the album "Oyster" first, I found this album not of the same quality or diversity. However, there are some very good tracks on here which are quite powerful and do not take long to take a hold on the memory, e.g. "My Fidelity", "Spirit in You" and "Frontier". Some of the more disappointing tracks are "Bare", "Shaking the Doll" and "Talking to Strangers". Heather's voice however is clear and not as strained as on the later album. Not a bad debut album and there are some nice melodic overtones e.g on "Spirit in You". The tracks consist of basic instrumental compositions (guitar, keyboard, some strings).

Rating: ****

Date of Review: 13.05.96