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Bic RungaAlbums ReviewedBeautiful Collision (2002)Birds (2005) Drive(1997)Runga has since disowned her debut, which she recorded in her early twenties. I'd be interested to hear it in hindsight, and I expect it's better than whatever Jewel was working on at the time, but I'd be amazed if it measures up to her later work. Beautiful Collision(2002)Runga's debut Drive was huge in New Zealand, one of the highest selling ever records by a Kiwi artist, but I disliked the overplayed single 'Sway' and ignored her, despite the critical acclaim. I probably wouldn't have given her a second thought, except that someone gave Beautiful Collision to my sister for her 21st, and now I'm up to speed with what most New Zealand music fans know already; Runga's one of the most talented figures in the New Zealand music scene, with catchy yet offbeat melodies, a talented multi-instrumentalist, and a slightly eccentric personality, as well as a unique part Maori and part Chinese heritage. As well as handling guitars, drums (on the single 'Something Good'), dobro, and keyboards, Runga enlists a veritable who's who of New Zealand music, including Dave Dobbyn, Neil Finn, Pluto's Milan Borich, various members of Goldenhorse, and her sister Boh (frontwoman for the much less interesting Stellar). The result's a charming album of chamber-pop, full of gorgeous string sections, like Bjork corralled into the mainstream, but with enough whimsy and personality to avert blandness. And it's full of good songs too, opening with the sweet and minimal 'When I See You Smile', with just Runga and her guitar, followed by a coupe of beautifully constructed and upbeat singles, the wonderfully effervescent 'Something Good' (featuring one of the most effective string breaks in recorded pop music) and 'Get Some Sleep'. These are balanced by more introspective moments like 'Honest Goodbyes' and 'She Left On A Monday', and topped off by more ambitious pieces like the closing 'Gravity', where the arrangement is constantly waiting for a delicate piano figure that only appears intermittently. The title track is one of the most eloquent songs ever written about sex, while 'Listening For The Weather' is yet another gorgeous piece. Runga also uses economical song lengths and nothing really outstays its welcome, meaning that the album never loses momentum. Fans of creatively arranged and intelligent pop like late period XTC or Kate Bush would be well advised to examine Runga; she's an enigmatic figure who's a long way above average among the legions of emerging female singer-songwriters. Indeed, it seems as Runga herself is aware of this; she recalls that playing Lilith Fair after Drive alongside Jewel and Sheryl Crow, that she doesn't like any of the bands she was lumped in with, citing country and Ella Fitzgerald as influences rather than the Tori Amos influence that shaped her first record's lyrics. 
 Birds(2005)For her third studio album Runga has again changed direction completely, reinventing herself almost as a jazz singer. Following the bright and effervescent hooky pop of Beautiful Collision, Birds is hushed and sombre, a eulogy to her father whose passing provided the stimulus and emotional backdrop to these songs. Runga's backing band is a remarkable collective of New Zealand musicians - the album's principal musical contributor is Neil Finn, in the unfamiliar role as pianist, whose playing is surprisingly subtle and nuanced. Trinity Roots' Rikki Gooch demonstrates that he's one of the most gifted drummers in the country, while Shayne Carter and Anika Moa guest on backing vocals. While Birds certainly works on an emotional level, and its ambitious nature and new direction helps to confirm Runga's status as a major musical force in New Zealand, it's also slightly light on musical ideas, and simply isn't as engaging as Beautiful Collision. This comparison is unfair, since it's to be expected that a straight out pop album like Beautiful Collision would be more accessible than the darker Birds, but this record could certainly use more hooks in a few places. This statement doesn't apply to the opening single, the excellent 'Winning Arrow', where the bright country sheen feels at odds with the rest of the album, like a warranted concession to commerciality. Elsewhere, Runga is able to produce some great songs in her new found jazz-pop vein, where she's covering ground more akin to piano-vocal jazz like Nina Simone than to Joni Mitchell's more pop-oriented jazz work on 1974's landmark Court And Spark. The surging, dramatic 'If I Had You' is a great example of the potential the project has, with a memorable call and response chorus, while the dramatic sighs of the closing 'It's Over' also demonstrate dynamics that the rest of the album sometimes lacks. Elsewhere, Birds is eloquent and elegant, but it's hard to get a grasp on the individual songs and they do tend to meld together more than they should. Birds is an ambitious album from Runga, a successful attempt at almost an entirely new genre for her, but it's not the tour de force it could have been; it's beautiful background music, but it doesn't demand the listener's full attention like it could have.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
