Ready, Aye, Ready

This 2002 eponymous album from UK band, Aurora, doesn't fit terribly comfortably into the electronica/dance-floor genre that it was released into. It's rather better than most due to a combination of cover tunes and guest vocalists. You get Shakespeares Sister's vocalist, Marcella Detroit, on two tracks, a cover of "If You Could Read My Mind" and the rather better "To Die For"; Irish singer Naimee Coleman on the very pretty "Hushabye" and a good cover of Duran Duran's "Ordinary World"; and resident singer Lizzy Pattinson on the remainder.

While the drum machines and synths tend to go full bore, there's also a considered use of accoustic guitar and strings. There's melody rather than the typical sheer repetition of thump-thump-thump. At the same time, Aurora avoids the morose soul-inflected ballads that tend to bedevil most Europop bands when they're not doing hardcore dance music. Most importantly, the vocalists don't sound generic and do fit with the songs. If I were to try to pigeonhole it, I'd say it sounds like "Careful What You Wish For"-era Texas. There's also a strong semblance to some of the output of Delerium on "In My Skin" and some other tracks.

Is it a classic? Well, no. Are there songs that I skip? Nope. Is it worth listening to? Yup. Good luck on finding a copy though: I had to order my CD from the UK.