Emiliana Torrini: Today Has Been OK

"And I thought today had been OK.

Today has been OK."

Every now and again an artist comes along with something that moves me. They touch me to the core. They give us something that reminds us of the beauty of what it means to be human. Unlike the forgettable pop garbage on mainstream radio, music aficionados have to dig a little deeper for the quality pop music.

This writer was brought to Emiliana Torrini twice before truly connecting with her and I'm not exactly sure why, because there is a depth of emotion to her music that is long absent from most popular music.

Her contribution to the film Sucker Punch (2011) with a cover of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit was epic. Long before that I really didn't give her outing Love In The Time Of Science (1999) a proper evaluation. Production on that effort was led by none other than Tears For Fears' Roland Orzabal, a lifelong favorite in pop music.

Going back to that effort, assimilating her various rarities and listening to her new music, Torrini has quietly become one of my absolute favorite female artists. Far surpassing the more quirky Bjork, the fellow Icelander Torrini is my cup of tea along with Iceland's Of Monsters And Men (featuring Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir). The aforementioned vocalists are all incredibly talented, distinct and beautiful in their own rights thanks to a commanding vocal presence graced with a lilt that is truly identifiably Icelandic stunning.

There's something about the simple, folk beauty of a song like Today Has Been OK that just hits me every time it hits my playlist. This writer never tires of the composition. My daughter finds it all a bore but sadly lacks the maturity of taste. Today Has Been OK is truly the perfect sample from the soft, gentle, reflective collection that is Fisherman's Woman (2005), perhaps my favorite Torrini recording to date. Collectively it works as one beautiful piece in much the same way My Head Is An Animal (2012) by Of Monsters And Men moved me.

But Torrini was coming at the Fisherman's Woman collection from an incredible personal place and anyone who enjoys music without a lot of production noise and distraction with a woman writing reflectively from the heart should absolutely add this journey to their collection.

Fisherman's Woman (2005). B+. Recommended. A gorgeous collection of independent folk stirrings replete with gorgeous melodies. A vastly different recording from the electronic stylings of her Love In The Time Of Science (1999). Its emotional resonance will move like the waves under a fisherman's boat.

Today Has Been OK. The sixth track on the twelve song production is likely my favorite because I can't tell how often I've literally thought to myself "well, today has been okay, not bad, not great, but I should be grateful." Still it's by no means the only beautiful number here.