Number 6 of 2007 — Tina Dico: Count To Ten

Tina Dico’s 2005 album, In The Red, revolved around the concept that ‘all you need is one,’ either with one other person, or merely yourself. Count To Ten, its successor released last year in Denmark and this year in the UK and US, lives with the results of these conflicting alternatives. Tina decided to self-produce this album with long-term band mate Dennis Ahlgren, recalling the intimacy that made Notes and Fuel so attractive. This pairing strongly influenced the songs that were created this time around, but the overall sound remains semi-acoustic folk-rock with splashes of electronica to add to its atmosphere.

Count To Ten introduces us to this album, documenting the mental cacophany of a busy life when trivial issues and behaviours are over analysed, leading to breakdown. Although the song (and much of the album) follows expected musical paths, the increasing use of piano on this song effectively mirrors the rise in tension. The recommendation “And sometimes if you wanna hold on you got to let go” is a cliché, but it’s exactly the sentiment that’s required when you realise that this thought could be applied to yourself or another.

Some reviewers have criticised Count To Ten for having little musical development over its predecessors. This is true on the surface, although there’s more piano here (and its appearance throughout is a revelation) but it’s the subtleties that provide greater reward. Tina’s voice continues to grow in strength and Count To Ten seems to be constructed to emphasise it and her lyrics. Those lyrics draw imagery and convey moods far more successfully than many of her contemporaries. Reach behind them and it’s quite surprising to discover how little the music needs to offer. This being the case, Tina still gives advice and offers friendship to those who need (or seek) help. My Business uses piano riffs to fill in and around her vocals and there’s an extremely well hidden beautiful harmony towards the close of the song. We don’t really get any rock-out moments – the subject matter is too personal to warrant this – but the super-critical You Know Better wants to, but has to make do with strong piano chords, hanging guitar lines and charming backing vocals.

Craftsmanship and Poetry is ostensibly a song about the emptiness of break-up (literally and figuratively, complete with a ticking clock) with further advice to a friend, but in its recording is a small laugh that hints at introspection. After all, what is songwriting other than craftsmanship and poetry? Whether to her friend or herself, Tina concludes “You need someone to turn you on, you need to let yourself have fun.” Do songwriters write for others, or themselves?

When I listen to In The Red, I notice its similarity to many of Lunik’s albums. Given the gradual progression here, the same is true for Count To Ten. Open Wide is a micro-anthem that could pass as a Lunik song. It speaks to me of half-hearted relationships, letting someone into your life but not sufficiently deeply to avert conflicts.

The path set by In The Red’s lonely Room with a View continues with Sacre Coeur, this time in Paris rather than London, so given the options “I could go home to my love.. Or I could go on running off into the night, lonely and haunted” the inevitable conclusion is “..the sad thing is / I don’t know which I prefer.” But during On The Run she admits that “..it looks like freedom and it smells like fun / But it feels like being on the run”. There are parallels here – relationships with people, with careers and with music. Night Cab picks up from On The Run and could be a post-gig or post-relationship song, although “There’s a deep blue sea out there / Of birth and death and the lovely mess in between” gives a clearer indication.

On The Run:

I’ve now lived with this album for ten months and each song that I considered to be my favourite has eventually been nudged out by another. Currently this makes the closing song (on the CD version) Everybody Knows – a nod to Leonard Cohen, perhaps? – the top dog because it fittingly bookends the opener – “And there’s only one thing you can do / Let it live and let it through / It’s time to open..” There’s a unexpected minimalist vocal break on this song which magically teases out this opinion, ultimately joined by a simple piano riff that lifts the entire track.

With Count To Ten, Tina Dico’s fourth album delivers more or less the same as her previous three, but overall the songs are far stronger despite the continuing personal claustrophobia – one day she’ll roar, she has to. This is in every respect an essential purchase.

Tina Dico: Count To Ten – iTunes UK
Amazon UK
Official Website
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