Genre: Rock Year: 2005 Country: France Official Site: Charise Details: Tracks & Audio Label: Halbop
Poetic lyrics so refreshing you could bathe in them and melody so sweet they should follow up a grand dinner is Kingdom of Life. A CD serving thirteen tracks of diverse uniqueness on a silver platter. All songs by Charise of the French label Halbop pour out emotion, sincerity and beauty. Her soft voice immediately soothes and her message lingers. Listen hard for she has a lot to say. Even the CD jacket is adorned with countless quotes about the beauty of the university—essentially the Kingdom of Life.
The evolution of the compilation provides an uplifting journey through emotion starting off with "Joy Everywhere" a track thick with instrumental diversity and a catchy folk-like melody. "Kill the Machine" opens with electro sampling which kicks off a poetic mini revolution against the monotonous direction in which today's life seems headed "Standardization has taken our lives. We still search for sensations—we've forgotten a long time ago".
"I love You More" opens up immediately captivating, one of those songs you half recognize. The real beauty of it is that the feeling in Charise's voice which brings you into the happy world of love just in time to keep you from delving too deep into an existential crisis from the previous warnings of life headed into a mechanical insurrection.
Intertwining from folk-rock songs into slower ballads "Kingdom of Life" has a style all to their own yet at times comparable to Mazzy Star, Ananda Project, and even drifting into a little bit of Pink Floyd with the dark guitar in an orbit of semi-psychedelic sound effects on "Mr. Wind". A shining track with a highly unique melody and of course more great lyrics to soak in. All the tracks have potential for remixing into a later-night scene but first and foremost they're great as they are and would be even better live.
"La vie est un royaume enchante ou chacun a le pouvoir d'etre heureux."
—Life is an enchanted kingdom where everyone has the power to be happy—Charise
Charise Kingdom of Life
