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Hanne Hukkelberg, "Do Not As I Do/Break My Body"
"Do Not As I Do," the latest single from Hukkelberg’s 2005 album Little Things, has everything I could hope for in a pop song: a good voice, original lyrics, and a memorable chorus.
The music is tasteful if unobtrusive, never upstaging Hukkelberg’s voice, which itself has an original set of nuances that are capable of surprise. The chorus, which is basically the same as the title, might be a somewhat trite or clichéd sentiment, but the rest of the lyrics tell a creepy story about ghosts and hauntings that belies the song’s apparently sunny surface.
As much as I liked her voice on the album cut, it’s the second song that shows her true range of expressiveness. Covering the Pixies’ "Break My Body," she turns their bittersweet rocker into a full-fledged lament, approaching the song from an unexpected emotional angle. Hukkelberg wisely infuses her interpretation with exactly what it needs to work successfully, and no more. Her combination of talent and taste makes her someone worth watching.
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