The songs on Aquarius are much more diverse than the ones on Aquarium. Musically, Aqua has grown quite a bit between its first and second CDs. However, I never suspected just how much I'd like it. Having heard "Cartoon Heroes" before I bought Aquarius CD, I knew that I was going to like the CD. All the songs tended to sound kind of the same, but that was OK with me because I liked that sound. The title track is a dramatic ballad with complementary orchestration and well-placed harmonies, showing that Aqua is capable of a great deal more than trendy novelty songs. "Bumble Bees" calls on Aqua's trademark brand of sexy metaphors. Hidden among the walls of synthesizers, timpani, theremin, and other unexpected instrumentation are some undeniable catchy pop hooks, such as that of "Back From Mars." The Latin-flavored "Cuba Libre" adds some spice with flamenco guitar and percussion. The mid-tempo groove of "Good Guys" is a refreshing departure from the monotony of 4/4 dance songs. "Halloween" opens with an endearing B-horror movie reference, and the sometimes abrasive vocals of Rene Dif work perfectly as the song's villain.
At times, Nystrom seems to capture the sexiness of Madonna and the quirkiness of Bjork.AQUARIUS opens with the Disneyish and aptly titled "Cartoon Heroes." Poking fun at country music, "Freaky Friday" weighs the realities of life's mishaps against the cliches of the genre. Description : Aqua: Rene Dif, Lene Grawford Nystrom (vocals) Claus Noreen, Soren Rasted.Additional personnel: Ole Kibsgaard (guitar) Stockhold Session Orchestra (strings) Peter Ljung (piano) CMN, Anders Oland (programming) Jorgen Larsen (scratches) Nana Hadin, Jean Paul Wall (background vocals).Engineers include: Stig Kreutzfeldt, Stefan Bowman.Recorded at Rastednorreen Mobile Studios Molle, Sweden Rasted Norreen Mobile Studios, Somerset UK Polar Studios, Stockhohm, Sweden from January to November 1999.This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Gliding above the seemingly kitschy Europop of Aqua is the angelic voice of Lene Nystrom, the band's most appealing element.
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