The Devine Comedy by Milla Jovovitch

  Scouting along the streets of Quiapo in Manila, I came across this tape from Singer/Actress Milla Jovovitch. The title of the album is 'The Devine Comedy" and it's simply by Milla-without her last name.Most people probably know that this wonderful  Ukrainian-born actress can also sing and write her own songs.She can even play the guitar, mandolin and flute well.


  The album opens with the track titled The Alien Song, an ethreal allegory of our future as well as environmental crisis. Here Milla sings with a mournful voice .Beautiful effects and acoustic instruments are enmeshed with electronic ones creating a wonderful sonic collage.


  The Gentleman Who Fell follows and it's her big hit.The pizzicato strings remind me of Enya's Orinoco Flow.The melody however is very Slavic and anyone who digs ABBA would appreciate this (unlike ABBA though ,this is not a happy song).Consider these lines from that song:

A voice is speaking
He's the prophet
Blinded by the light
A heart is breaking
I can hear it
Dropped when gone beyond my sight

  The rest of the songs follow in a smooth transition from mellow to rocking types .The song Clocks  is actually about Anne Frank,the little girl who was a victim of the Holocaust in the Nazi era;

I'm locked in a box
With a window and a clock
Sometimes I can't sleep
I watch the second hand feeding
Time is ticking, ticking

  Of all the tracks I think the standout is this arresting song called In A Glade which is a Ukranian traditional song.I think I can hear the balalaika there(the same instrument prominent in the film called Dr.Zhivago).She doesn't sing about gooey lovesongs that a lot of female artists are doing right now.At 17 she was tackling serious issues . 

  She made wise musical choices which could have rivaled her screen picks if she was given a choice to sail between these two rivers (although she is also sailing the seas of modeling so dig that).Milla has a voice which is a cross between Anne Lennox and Kate Bush.A recording like this deserves a follow up which unfortunately never happened since other career choice took most of her time. In another lifetime perhaps. 

  Over all the record quality is excellent except for the much extended chanting on track like "Clocks"  which should havebeen reduced to one minute .There is also too much synth effects on "The Alien" song which is unnecessary, since the melody has a strong sense of itself, really. However this is a brave debut album.

Track listing:
"The Alien Song" – 4:45

1. "Gentleman Who Fell" – 4:39
2. "It's Your Life" – 3:45
3. "Reaching From Nowhere" – 4:10
4. "Charlie" – 4:10
5. "Ruby Lane" – 4:36
6. "Bang Your Head" – 3:23
7. "Clock" – 4:15
8. "Don't Fade Away" – 5:43
9. "You Did It All Before" – 3:58
10. "In a Glade" – 2:27