Everytime I go to update this, I always stop. Is it because I don’t want to or is it because I can’t be bothered? Well, a bit of both really. There are a few things I need to update on and yes I know that I said I was gonna do it a couple of weeks ago but I forgot cos I don’t get very long at lunch and I was enjoying the sun in the Queen’s Gardens too much! I’m going to do an update every day basically telling you of the things I was gonna tell you.
*Sigh*
(Please contain your excitement)
Bionic
Jennifer Testa
Chris
Work
Birds
Glasses
Weddings
So first of all:
01. Bionic ☆☆☆☆
02. Not Myself Tonight ☆☆☆
03. Woohoo (feat. Nicki Minaj) ☆☆☆☆☆
04. Elastic Love ☆☆☆☆☆
05. Desnudate ☆☆
06. Love & Glamour (Intro)
07. Glam ☆☆☆
08. Prima Donna ☆☆
09. Morning Dessert (Intro)
10. Sex for Breakfast ☆☆☆
11. Lift Me Up ☆☆☆☆
12. My Heart (Intro)
13. All I Need ☆☆☆☆☆
14. I Am ☆☆☆☆
15. You Lost Me ☆☆☆☆☆
16. I Hate Boys ☆
17. My Girls (feat. Peaches) ☆
18. Vanity ☆☆☆☆☆
Deluxe edition bonus tracks:
19. Monday Morning ☆☆☆☆
20. Bobblehead ☆☆☆
21. Birds of Prey ☆☆☆☆☆
22. Stronger than Ever ☆☆☆
23. I Am (Stripped) ☆
24. Little Dreamer (iTunes only) ☆☆☆☆☆
Before I start, I’d like to reassure you that I am a stan. I really am. I became a fan in 2004 and a stan in 2006. I have all of her albums, all of the Stripped singles, tour merchandise, posters, the Bionic Fan Edition etc. You get the drift.
Above, you will see the complete tracklisting for Bionic with a rating out of 5. Some songs I dislike a lot (I Hate Boys) and some I love (You Lost Me). None of Bionic is really real electro or synthpoppy; only Little Dreamer being the closest to it. I must say I’m a little disappointed. I was expecting an amazing album but I feel a little let down. The songs are slowly growing on me so perhaps I’ll change my mind.
So onto the songs themselves:
Stand out tracks: Bionic (electro-ish), Not Myself Tonight (I still love it!), Woohoo (urban pop), Elastic Love (electro/synthpoppy), Sex for Breakfast (slow, sensual r’n'b jam), Lift Me Up (Haiti version is better though), All I Need (beautiful lullaby), You Lost Me (gorgeous ballad, the lyrics “thi-i-i-i-s is tragic” describe the tone of the song perfectly), Vanity (hilarious), Birds of Prey (dark synthpop which reminds us a little of Delirium) and Little Dreamer (sunny synthpop with a very sad message. Reminds me a lot of Together in Electric Dreams by Giorgio Moroder and Phillip Oakey).
Above meh: Monday Morning (gets stuck in my head a lot), Bobblehead, Stronger Than Ever, I Am (a grower though!), Morning Dessert (although it’s an intro).
Meh: Desnudate, Glam (sounded really good on HMV’s instore sound system), Prima Donna (her vocals remind me of MJ in the chorus), My Girls (sounds like it’s from a P!nk album).
No: I Hate Boys (thank god it’s short – the best thing about it is the chant).
Songs I ♥: Little Dreamer, Birds of Prey, Woohoo, You Lost Me (it’s a heartbreaker), Elastic Love, Lift Me Up
It sounds really good out loud on a decent pair of speakers as I found out on Saturday whilst getting ready for Steven and Donna’s wedding!
If I try and ignore the pang of disappointment, Bionic is a good album. Really. It has some great stand out tracks surrounded by some not so great ones. I just wish Christina was allowed to put all of the songs onto one edition (including the fabled Kimono Girl by Ladytron). Please have b-sides Christina!
The best songs are the ones by the amazingly talented Sia and Ladytron!
With regards to the toned down vocals, it proves that C/X has a great voice which isn’t just good for belting! I love the way she uses her voice. She even raps in Woohoo! I love the robotic drone in Elastic Love and lovely control in You Lost Me and Lift Me Up.
Overall:
Mrs Bratman has shown that she is versatile and creative, I just wish she had been able to show it. I know she is capable of so much more than what we got in Bionic. Fairly good with room for improvement so here’s hoping for a re-release with more synthpoppy/experimental music! We’ve only had a taster of the direction Christina wanted to go in. I just hope we see it soon.
☆☆☆½
