Suzanne Vega - Nine Objects Of Desire

Five years after her last album, ‘99.9F’, Suzanne Vega has finally released another. In the ‘80s, Suzanne Vega was one of the first singer songwriters to write about sensitive issues such as child abuse. Many have since come to expect a lot more depth to her songs.

The album begins with ‘Birthday’, which builds up to a crescendo of distorted vocals and frantic drumming. The pace of the drumming is reprised in ‘Casual Match’ which is accompanied at equal speed in Vega’s delivery of her lyrics about a relationship going up in flames.

Not all the tracks are so frantic though and others have a smooth jazzy quality. Again there are some serious topics in the lyrics. These are not completely obvious and apparent when first heard though. In a way, Vega is trying to challenge the listener into guessing what the lyrics are portraying. The music teases the listener and lulls you into thinking she’s just singing about some light hearted topic with absolutely no meaning which is not uncommon in a lot of music. ‘Thin-man’ sounds funky but there is a certain repulsive reaction when you discover she’s singing about a pimp. ‘Head-shots’ is another slinky track which is about seen and forgotten appeals for help from victims of misfortune. Vega uses swooning vocal calls in ‘Lolita’, like a mother’s voice calling out to a child to come home, not because it’s late but because the immature child is selling herself short by trying to get married too young. ‘World Before Columbus’ is easily the best track on the album and has a great flowing rhythm and has a certain tribal sound to it due to the type of percussion used.

On the whole, the album has an acute edge to it and initially is fairly heavy going, however Vega’s smooth sandy vocals are a great feature of the album. The tracks have a range of styles but the foremost distinct must be the jazzy samba like rhythms and full bodied bass. This album is bold yet humble, intelligently written and confidently performed.(8)

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