Girl Media

Review of Majandra Delfino "The Sicks"

There's an embarrassing history of Hollywood actors attempting to be singers. With a grimace I can recall hearing the albums by David Hasselhoff, Joey Lawrence and Edward Furlong (especially Eddie's version of The Door's "People Are Strange" *shudder*). Perhaps eliminating the requirement for actors to sing and dance before being hyped up to superstar status wasn't a good idea, then again I sorta remember John Travolta's music too.

So you have to leave it to a modern day actress to break the mold and come out with an album that is spotless of corporate involvement and (painfully) true to her heart. With Fiona Apple taking a creative break and Tori Amos nearing 40, Majandra Delfino is the new kid on the block of unapologetic, honest, experimental music. Taking her cues from Bjork, Portishead and Nine Inch Nails, her first EP comes out with a layered electronic flair naturalized by her deep, sadden voice that reminds me of what Nico could of sounded like had she not been so monotone.

Every song on "The Sicks" EP is a work of art. Majandra teamed up with the electronic group Sci-Fi Lullaby to arrange her classical guitar written songs into synthesized soundscapes. The ballad of the album is "Oil + Water" but my favorite from the very beginning has always been "Bruises". Angry, sad and vengeful (which can describe almost all the tracks) "Bruises" harbors a strong Nine Inch Nails influence that I cling to, as it's nice to finally hear these sort of lyrics and sounds from a woman's point of view.

Majandra independently released "The Sicks" before the end of 2001. Her EP contains small paintings for each of her 6 songs printed in the booklet that heighten the senses by giving a visual to what you hear. There is limited availability of the disc, but you can purchase it through Amazon and her web site contains music video clips activated by giving a doll version of Majandra sleeping pills.

Despite her fame as an actress, her true talent lies behind her guitar.

Christiane was just at Majandra's concert in Paris, and sent in a link to the photos she took and host on her website.