Liv Kristine – Libertine (2012)

Delivering her second solo release for Napalm Records, today we have Liv Kristine with “Libertine”. Utilizing her ‘gap’ year between Leaves’ Eyes releases, Lik Kristine and company (husband Alex Krull and Thorsten Bauer, both band mates from Leaves’ Eyes), manage to squeeze in eleven tracks of catchy Pop/Alternative Rock music that showcases Liv’s sweet vocals and knack for keeping busy writing songs all year round.

Opening with the very mellow and folk-ish “Interlude”, this release is off to a very solid start, unlike her previous 2010 effort “Skintight”. The power ballad “Silence” is a clear example of why most Metal heads that like female fronted metal love Liv Kristine, her vocals are angelic and with a simple combination of piano/cello/whatever string instrument, they are greatly highlighted and sound like a million dollars. Featuring very powerful and engaging guitarwork, we have to give a nod to the very entertaining but somewhat repetitive “Panic”.

The next standout song in this release is “Vanilla Skin Delight” a duo with Germany’s ‘idol’ competition winner Tobias Regner. Continuing her tradition of featuring a duet in her releases, we find this track quite catchy and entertaining since Tobia’s vocals nicely contrast Liv’s style. However, we are not huge fans of the popcorn-ish chorus section. The cliché ridden “Paris Paris” is one of those few tracks that you can most certainly skip when playing the album, and you will actually enjoy the release more without it.

The Evanescence-like “Love Crime” is quite emotional and has very nice and emotive lyrics, but still feels a bit too over the top. “Libertine” comes to us with very powerful guitars and catchy chorus sections; this song also reminds us a bit more to Leaves’ Eyes latest release. The very odd and somewhat exhilarating “Meet Me In The Red Sky” is one of the best tracks in this release, showing the traditional Liv Kristine sound with a different and jazzier musical beginning. Closing with the Kate Bush cover “The Man With The Child In His Eyes”, Liv Kristine does a good job showcasing her abilities and manages to sound quite different in this track.

While we are still bigger fans of Leaves’ Eyes and the older Theater of Tragedy, it is very nice to hear Liv Kristine singing in a different context. The tracks in this release are again a collection of disconnected pieces, but they sound a bit more unified this time. Backed by excellent musicians, Liv Kristine manages to release a pretty solid album that will surely net her some new fans and please fans of Leaves’ Eyes until the next album is released.

Release: September 7th, 2012 (Europe) / September 18th, 2012 (North America)

Genre: Alternative Rock

Country: Norway