There are definite downsides to starting out early in the music business. While it feels safe to say that Alessi Laurent-Marke hasn’t had a monkey confiscated nor endured too many embarrassing paparazzi bust-ups, she does find herself releasing a third album – and thus edging that bit closer to being “established”—at just 22. When artists reach that big old number three, it tends to make us scrutinise songs ever more closely when performers like Laurent-Marke are, in the grand scheme of things, still just starting out. In this case, The Still Life proves an appropriate title for a record which sees Alessi’s Ark more treading water than taking off.
The overriding initial impression is of how much remains unchanged from the previous record, 2011’s Time Travel. Like that effort, The Still Life is extremely brisk, compressing 13 songs into just 32 minutes. Again, there
Article source: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/171089-alessis-ark-the-still-life/