Next, via Alexander, some throwback soul…
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[6.78]
Alexander Barton: An absolute scorcher, “You Were Mine” finds Tami Neilson bereaved, bothered and bedeviled as she sorts through a traumatic loss. Neilson’s been doing this stuff for years, and she’s never sounded better, pouring gallons of venom into each “before” and “after.” Her idol Sharon Jones would have been proud and probably would have covered this.
[10]
Thomas Inskeep: Adele does Amy Winehouse, with a soupçon of Eartha Kitt for seasoning — but singing a dull retro pastiche of a song.
[4]
Rose Stuart: I want to make a joke that in New Zealand we have more to offer than vintage throwbacks by women with smoky voices, but when the music is this good, who cares? “You Were Mine” does nothing groundbreaking with its instrumentation, though the flourishes in the drumbeat do keep it interesting, and the lyrics start off as delightfully poetic but soon become middle of the road. But let’s be honest: This song can be as simple as it wants because it lives and dies on Tami’s voice. And what a voice.
[8]
Juana Giaimo: I love subtlety, self-control and ellipsis. I think good pop songs generally have at least one of those things, and that’s why many singers may not have the greatest voice but can still move us. On “You Were Mine,” Tami Neilson shows off her voice and pours her heart out, but it’s all so straightforward that there is nothing left to the listener.
[4]
Nortey Dowuona: Shaky guitar lies over the drums, hollowed-log bass and Tami’s burning, restless croon. She pulls a thudding tom groove from the sand and sets it ablaze, forming it into a shield. The dunes continue to rise as Tami pulls up another thudding tom groove, setting it ablaze and this time forging a sword.
[6]
Jeffrey Brister: Mournful soul is 100% my shit–the swinging drums, each carefully placed flourish of notes, the sparking sensation of the snare and guitar hitting together. As “You Were Mine” starts its build to the chorus, every instrument becomes more insistent, filling the silence of the verses, until Neilson’s voice rises over the top in a moment of raw transcendence. It’s close to perfect, the way she executes something so difficult in a way that feels effortless.
[9]
Katherine St Asaph: Proposal: No more “wow, she can really sing real music!” retro-soul revivalists unless they’re at least this good.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: The song’s brand-new-retro sound really only goes back to about 2008, but I can’t deny that Tami Neilson wallops the life into the song. It matters only slightly that there’s really only enough song for 2 minutes; I could listen to Neilson for much longer than that.
[6]
Ian Mathers: Depends on your appetite for unabashed throwbacks, I guess, but for me if I come away from your single going “I’d love to hear her take on, say, ‘I Put a Spell on You’,” then you’re doing something right.
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