Product Description

Whether partnered with Guy Sigsworth as Frou Frou, or on her own, Imogen Heap is an enormously gifted singer, songwriter, producer, keyboardist, and programmer. She does it all here on her second solo CD which showcases her remarkable talents. The stunning track "Hide and Seek" offers the electronic equivalent of a cappella, with only Imogen's expressive voice heard via vocoder -- an early favourite that shot right to #1 on iTunes Electronic Chart in June 2005. The song was also featured on the season finale of The O.C., and earlier in the season, The O.C. previewed another track from this album called "Goodnight and Go", a bittersweet ballad about the secret admiring of a neighbour. Comparison's have been made to Bjork, Alanis Morrisette, Joni Mitchell and Annie Lennox, among others, but no one can hold a candle to Imogen Heap. Her electronic programming and keyboarding are so textured and layered, you will hear something new with each and every listening. Her canvas is cinematic, operatic, visionary, and always surprising with twists, turns, tangents and breaks that keep the listener on a journey of the unexpected. Whether evoking a hundred piece orchestra, an electric slide guitar, or a simple vocoder, Heap weaves her magic spell. As a lyricist, Heap has a wicked sense of humour, yet can drive a knife right through your heart when you least expect it.

Track Listing

1. Headlock
2. Goodnight & Go
3. Have You Got It In You?
4. Loose Ends
5. Hide & Seek
6. Clear
7. The Area
8. Daylight Robbery
9. The Walk
10. Just For Now
11. I Am In Love With You
12. Closing In

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60218 in Music
• Released on: 2005-07-18
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
Although it took Imogen Heap seven years to follow up her solo debut with 2005's SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, the British vocalist was far from idle during the interim, having formed Frou Frou with producer Guy Sigsworth (Bjork, Seal). While her second album mines a vein similar to Frou Frou's electronica/pop hybrid, it also carries a more sweeping and dynamic singer/songwriter aesthetic. The disc's most notable track is "Hide and Seek", a nearly a cappella tune that was prominently featured on the popular teen drama THE O.C., and presents Heap's bold-yet-breathy vocals lounging on a bed of electroniceffects. Other highlights include the glitchy, chiming "Goodnight and Go" and the urgent "Clear the Area", both of which exemplify this assured and intriguing record.

Customer Reviews

Heap and Seek
While you may know Imogen Heap for her contributions in Frou Frou, "Speak for yourself" is the stunning follow-up to her first solo album "I Megaphone". This new album moves away from both her previous projects. "I Megaphone" is darkly electronic and Frou Frou's "Details" is a pop-orientated trip-hop album. In contrast, "Speak for Yourself" is soft, sophisticated, and edged with tenderness yet it maintains the electronic trip-hop vocalised essence that fans of Heap will have come to expect. A vital difference with "Speak for Yourself" is that Heap's classical training shines through more than ever, from piano melodies and classic synths and strings to the exquisite composition of every track. And layered over all this, and entwined into the music, is Imogen Heap's breathy silky voice.
My absolute favourite track is 'Hide and Seek' which was used in The OC's season finale recently. It is a slow harmonised vocal track that communicates a sense of united sorrow and hope simultaneously. It's absolutely beautiful and this one track is enough reason to buy the album!!
Other favourites are 'Clear the Area' in which classical piano leads into an ocean of mellow beats, 'Just for Now' with its layers of luscious vocals, and 'Closing in' which combines moody trip-hop beats with innocent vocals.
All in all, this is a brilliant eclectic album that manages to hold together the funky grooves of 'I am in love with you' and a ballad like 'The Moment I said it'. There isn't a bad track.

Comparisons: Jem, Frou Frou, Goldfrapp, Zero 7 in parts and elements of Archive.

It's impossible to ignore you
She's back.

Imogen Heap made her relatively unknown debut with "I Megaphone," seven years back, and went on to become half of the mega-successful indiepop duo Frou Frou. Well, now Heap has returned with her second solo album, an energetic, sharp-tongued pop slice, "Speak For Yourself."

She kicks off with the sparkling music-box melody of "Headlock," which blossoms halfway into a dark pop gem. Nor does it stop there -- it's followed by velvety melodies, swirling instrumentation, energetic hooks scattered here and there. There are even a few balls-to-the-wall rock numbers, like the explosive bass blasts of "Daylight Robbery."

Seven years have changed Imogen Heap's sound, and it's not a change for the worse. When she debuted, her style was kind of Tori Amos, guitar-playing Angry Young Pop Woman. In "Speak For Yourself," she evokes nobody but Imogen Heap.

At first it seems that Heap's acid-flecked style has become softer and more stylized this time -- instead of taunting old bullies and denouncing people who invade her space, she's announcing, "You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock/You know your better than this."

Don't worry, that sharp edge returns soon enough: "No it's not meant to be like this, it's just what I don't need,/Why make me feel like this, it's definitely all your fault." But the vibe isn't an Angry Young Woman one, but an older, wiser, somewhat sadder one -- hearts have been broken, lovers have lied, but she can still get that explosive rush from new love.

And time has mellowed more than her songwriting. Heap's collaborative band seems to have influenced her style, giving it a trippier sound with plenty of piano, burbling or gritty synth, and tinkling melodies. And Heap's velvety voice soars over it all, able to sink to a breathy whisper or a throaty roar.

With its unbroken stream of swirling pop splendour, and Heap's lovely voice, "Speak For Yourself" is perhaps the best pop album released so far this year. Energetic, expansive, and enormous fun.

Great album from a wonderfully talented artist
After one track from this album was featured on the finale of the OC's second season, I expeted Imogen Heap to be a name on everyone's lips. However, she's maintained an unfairly low profile to the mainstream music listeners.

Speak for Yourself is a perfectly produced album of original, amazing tracks. Mixing trance, dance, pop, R'n'B with great lyrics I literally had not heard anything like it before.

Goodnight and Go and Headlock are stand out tracks. They stay in your head all day. Perhaps what's most fascinating about this album is its sounds and the music's texture. It's a must buy for anyone pedantic about the way their music sounds.

Give it a go and see what you think. I was, and still am, amazed.