When I spoke to Melanie C in November 2017 about what was next for her (musically), she was busy promoting “Room for Love,” the fourth (and final) single from her then most recent song cycle, Version of Me (2016). She remarked of its follow-up project, “I'm working on it right now! I'm just about to leave for Europe, I'm doing a big tour, it's called Night of the Proms. I've been invited along as a guest vocalist. There's a 60-piece orchestra and band on stage, it's a big arena tour, so that keeps me busy until Christmas. And then, in the New Year, when I get back, I start work on the new record. I'm very excited about it, I'm hoping to get the music out in the new year.”
The best laid plans, as the saying goes, can go astray.
Melanie C soon found herself at her busiest in 2019 with live work—shows with the Spice Girls and Sink the Pink! came calling. Subsequently, she issued only one single (“High Heels”) late last year. As all this was happening, conflicting details began to swirl around her still gestating long player—it was an ambitious covers affair; the acclaimed producer Youth! was overseeing its construction; et cetera, et cetera. Melanie C stayed mum, only stating she was excited with how the sessions for her eighth solo outing were coming along.
Now, with “Who I Am,” Melanie C officially marks the beginning of a new epoch in both her sound and vision. While the title of the album is speculated to be the same as the single’s designation, what is clear about the LP is its likely sonic approach à la “Who I Am”: sleek, layered, electronic pop of a slightly danceable persuasion. For Melanie C loyalists, this sonic thread is not uncommon. Electronic music—in both clubby and broader experimental configurations—has factored into her musical matrix since her standalone launch in 1999 with Northern Star. Additionally, from a thematic stance, Melanie C remains committed to the exploration of her personhood as the song—and its striking companion video—attests.
As more details are sure to emerge around the parent record for “Who I Am,” this offering is a delicious primer for the full-length effort just waiting in the wings—it is sure to be another strong addition to Melanie C’s already impressive canon of work.
Quentin Harrison is the author of Record Redux: Spice Girls, the first written overview of the Spice Girls musical history which was originally published in 2016. He is currently working on an overhauled volume of the book to be made available for purchase in late December 2020; the first edition has been discontinued in lieu of the forthcoming issuance of the revamped book. Harrison has published four other books in his 'Record Redux Series' on Carly Simon, Donna Summer, Madonna and Kylie Minogue that are currently available physically and digitally.
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