SIA

Some People Have Real Problems

2008-02-04

Eccentric pop singer Sia will no doubt burst with success after the release of Some People Have Real Problems. This is her first album under the Starbucks-affiliated Hear Music label, and it includes favored tracks from previous albums, like “Lentil” and the Pretenders’ cover, “I Go to Sleep.” Each track is impressive … from the spicy staccato of “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine” to the thundering horn solos in “Electric Bird.” Several of these songs deal with real problems, like walking away from relationships, which is most believably (not to mention beautifully) expressed in the ballad “You Have Been Loved.” And Sia’s voice seems to have undergone a soulful, trill-full transformation on tracks like “Death by Chocolate” and “Little Black Sandals.” “Academia” is perhaps the most peculiar and accomplished track. It features Beck on harmony vocals, and the lyrics are soaked in sadness … “I’m a binary code that you cracked long ago, but to you I’m just a novel that you wish you’d never wrote.” Reviewed by Sara Cosgrove

Quick Links:

• Sia's MySpace page