Identity Storm
After nearly two decades away from the music scene, Grace Jones released her most recent album Hurricane in 2008. The Lady Gaga of her time in a way, she created an iconic image for herself as an eccentric artist set on making waves in the world of entertainment. After listening to her latest album, it’s no surprise that Hurricane is as eclectic as its unconventional creator. The new wave and electronica paired with Jones’s unique voice and lyrics provide listeners with a other-worldly, modern sound.
The unifying themes of Hurricane are similar to Jones’s preceding albums: social commentary and a sort of autobiographical expressiveness. The lead single “Corporate Cannibal” embodies the former with lyrics like: “I deal in the market; every man, woman and child is a target.” It is a song with a mellowed angst similar to the Pink Floydian bitterness of “Welcome to the Machine.” “Sunset Sunrise” makes the same impression, placing lyrics about the universal ownership of Earth in the context of a synthesized primordial, non-Western soundscape. Tracks like “Hurricane,” “This Is,” and “Williams’ Blood” reflect how Jones perceives her identity in relation to her surroundings. “When are you gonna be like a Jones? You’re just like your dad,” she sings in “Williams’ Blood,” leaving listeners with a view of her identity within her family dynamic.
Hurricane succeeds at embodying the unique stamp that Grace Jones has left on all of her musical career, which is appropriate given the period of her life in which it was released. The overall sound of the album is as undefined as Jones’s androgynous character—a treat for the experimental music connoisseur and a strange sensation for the more mainstream crowd.
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