Monique Angele - Alive (Self-Released)

A Canadian singer-songwriter currently residing in Australia, Monique Angele is an artist who started in the world of opera and gradually shifted her focus to pop music. Her new album, Alive, to be released August 25th, is part of her own concerted effort toward growth and evolution. Inspired by the consistent individuality of Kate Bush, Angele is uncompromising in her vision and the album is a testament to her desire to create something which pushes the boundaries of her own songwriting. Although the entire package is united by a singular theatrical tendency, each song is radically different and builds upon the song immediately preceding it.

In a style more The Kick Inside than Hounds of Love, Angele writes about both broad issues of human rights, typified here by the earnestly poignant “I Want A World,” and themes closer to home like the melancholy “Hold On.” It’s the sparsest of songs, like “Rare Girl,” however, which work best, and allow the music to truly speak for itself. Alive isn’t experimental in a nature in which one could categorize it as belonging to the avant garde; instead, it’s experimental on a personal level as she continues to search deeper within herself for emotionally honest material.