Will-W Bodytalk Album Review
My Life Story & Crazy For You Highlight New CD From Toronto Pop Star
Oct 9, 2008
In 2002, Will released his debut EP Will|IAm, a completely self-produced and funded project. The EP was well received and the artist became one of the first in Canada to attain recognition in the Chinese community leading to success in Hong Kong. Having recorded in Chinese, the Toronto-native singer/songwriter followed up his overseas success with a first English-language long-player, 2007’s Connection.
For his third release, Bodytalk, Will drew inspiration from current vague of dance/ pop climbing the charts, and assembled an impressive collection of producers to flesh out his music and lyrics including Monsieur Adi, Fergus Chow, Edmond Lopez and Adrian Eccleston who has worked with dance diva Kylie Minogue and fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.
My Life Story
On Bodytalk, Will pays homage to the dance /pop styles made popular in the 80’s and 90’s with hints of George Michael’s Faith and Darryn Hayes/ Savage Garden in his voice and musical arrangements. As far as pop music goes, Bodytalk hits the nail on the head. Not only does the CD instantly make hips sway and feet groove, lyrically the songs are both current and relevant with often biting poetic gymnastics such as "Another cat fight, instead of good night" from “Hollywood Ending”.
Drawing inspiration from as diverse subject matters as Sex and the City (“Carrie Bradshaw”), broken relationships (“Hollywood Ending”) as well as his personal trials and grievances (“My Life Story”), Will-W has crafted a pop/dance opus with enough retro sounding grooves and strings to pay homage to his 80’s inspirations while remaining contemporary.
Forbidden Possession
The first half of the album covers the pop gem gambit, but it’s in the second half when the record kicks into high gear with the infectious “I’m Away” propelled by bubbling synths and a deep, gritty NYC underground backbeat sprinkled with detached electronica.
Following “I’m Away”, the album steps into trance territory with the haunting “Forbidden”, one of the album’s many stand out tracks. Will’s voice floats over muffled electronics, driving percussion and a looped string sample than creeps under the skin. The melancholic words “Every breathe that I take leads to suffocation/ Every thought it’s just a mere fixation” conjures up the sweet eeriness of “Possession” by Sarah MacLachlan, on a trance trip.
Crazy For You
The album concludes with one bonus track, a cover of Madonna’s "Crazy For You" from 1985. One of the tricky things in recording a song like this is the undeniable comparison to the original. While Will’s rendition remains faithful to the original, he adds his own spin to the track with variations on the vocals and musical arrangements. Though it’s not a bad song choice, this cover happens to be the weakest track on the album; his original material blows it away by miles.
While highlights on Bodytalk abound, the majority of the tracks grab listeners, pulling them into familiar and relatable ground to the point where its seems Will is singing pages ripped from your own journals set to a disco beat- the sign of a truly brilliant pop record.
If the pop gods still ruled, Bodytalk would be playing on every iPod. Truly one of the best albums of the late summer, Bodytalk is available now on Amazon.com and iTunes.
To get a free copy of Bodytalk in time for Halloween, check out Will's free album giveaway.
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