Search - Sister Soleil :: Soularium

Great major label debut, but not as dark as the previous CD

08/01/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What a great CD! I've been listening to Sister Soleil since Drown Me In You came out, and although I prefer her older stuff, this is a wonderful follow-up. If you're expecting a lot of her darker, more atmospheric style from Drown Me In You, you're in for a surprise. The opener, Feel My Love, hints at older songs like Lava Lamp. Although the excellent remakes of Red (cool addition of the scratching!!) and Chair (blows away the original) retain their older sound, about half of the CD is more optimistic than past efforts from the band. Hit Me is a standout track of the darker songs, with a great industrial beat. It should have been a single! After seeing the title of the song AOL, I expected dumb pop music, but it's a great song! Lots of attitude, like the track Lounge Lizard. Torch is a good song; I like the slow interlude halfway through the song. Strength is a good believe-in-yourself preaching pop song, although I don't think the chorus fits with the sound of the rest of the song. Liar is the only song on the album that I can't stand to listen to; the intro makes me cringe. The CD closes with Butterfly, a happy, pretty little song. As for the interludes between the songs, some of them work quite well, others are kind of give-or-take. Overall, a great major label debut from an awesome Chicago band."

Feel my love

Erica Anderson | Minneapolis, MN | 02/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone remember that annoying "Kiss Kiss" by Stella Soleil from a couple of years ago? "Kiss Kiss" was one of those songs that exemplifies what an 'earworm' is. It is an annoyingly catchy song that just sticks in your head and won't go away for months on end. Thankfully that song didn't do anything for Stella's career. It was too poppy for my tastes. I greatly preferred her work with her old band Sister Soleil. "Soularium" was a far superior cd than "Dirty Little Secret". "Soularium" was a fusion of techno, industrial, and rock music. The techno/industrial beats vaguely reminded me of Collide and Garbage. Stella Soleil isn't your typical vocalist. She has that same high-pitched, delicate singing style that I hear in Sarah Brightman. It isn't obvious but I personally can hear a bit of Sarah in Stella's voice. Most of the songs are really good. I particularly enjoy "Feel My Love", "Butterfly", and "Chair" but "AOL" is my least favorite song on the cd. I found the chorus to be annoying. It is too bad that this band didn't last very long. They did possess a great amount of potential."

Only FIVE stars?

Erica Anderson | 10/11/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay. So there is some bias. Stella (and John, her brother) Katsoudas are old friends from Chicago. Picked the album up. Love the remakes of the songs which were already burned in my mind. The cd plays constantly at night. Feels like I'm home. There is nothing on the airwaves that compares to the sound of Stella's voice. Nothing. Finally, I have always thought, there is music worth listening to."