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"Floor Jansen tries his hand at solo Pop exercise. Without much originality, "Paragon" should disappoint its fans with a lack of personality and unexciting tracks."
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2/5
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Considered by many as the greatest female singer of symphonic metal today, Floor Jansen is releasing her first solo album "Paragon" this spring. At 42, the Dutchwoman has already had a great career, collaborating on various projects such as those of her compatriot Arjen Anthony Lucassen, then successively singing in After Forever, Revamp and Nightwish since 2013.
But it is in a more Pop domain that she has been making a name for herself for the past three years by participating in several popular TV shows in the Netherlands, an exercise in cover songs in which she has excelled, bluffing the music world and her entire country, which discovered her immense talent on this occasion. With this success, she is now trying her hand at a more mainstream solo effort aimed at the same global audience.
The intention is very clear, with ten tracks and just 35 minutes of music, the radio format applies to all the songs. The emphasis is on melody and the structure of the tracks is almost identical on all tracks with a soft vocal at the beginning before she sends out powerful notes on the choruses. Apart from a few jolts on the soft 'Storm' or the original (finally) 'Me Without You', Floor is satisfied with sometimes insipid ditties without forcing her talent.
Musically, the atmosphere is pop rock with simple rhythms, some more ('Come Full Circle') or less ('Invincible') rock guitars, ambient keyboards or a piano on the softer passages, the whole supported by a clean production but which sometimes lacks personality to completely captivate, like the flat orchestration of the promising 'The Calm'. It's finally 'Fire', the first single released on the networks several months ago, and placed here at the very end of the album, that acts as the flagship track. It's half a disappointment not to have discovered anything as good on the whole album.
After a pleasant half-hour listen, what's left? Floor Jansen's magnificent voice and then... not much. The compositions cruelly lack that little extra that makes the hits. In the same genre, the project of her compatriot Sharon Den Adel "My Indigo" released in 2018 was better. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. My Paragon
02. Daydream
03. Invincible
04. Hope
05. Come Full Circle
06. Storm
 07. Me Without You
08. The Calm
09. Armoured Wings
10. Fire
LINEUP:
Floor Jansen: Chant
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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Top of the page
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(2) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
-/5 (0 view(s))
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STAFF:
2.6/5 (7 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH FLOOR JANSEN
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OTHER REVIEWS
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