Compact Disc (CD)
From her dragon-themed album storylines to the elven costumes she wears, MJ Noble leans hard into fantasy, writing songs centered on flute, jungle percussion, and vocals that occasionally recall Björk. On Songs From My Castle Tower, the L.A. musician born Minni Jo rockets into hyperspace, offsetting tense breakbeats with climactic melodies. It seems beamed from a mystic far-off realm, where centaurs graze in purple mist.
The album’s 70 minutes are alternately restless and crystalline, with Noble’s voice dovetailing over skittering grooves and choppy low-end. On “All Urs,” lush woodwinds puncture taut rhythms, and on “Pay The Price,” dubstep bass supports a spunky verse from California’s Chemistry MC: “Revenge swimming through my blood/ There ain’t no coming back/Sickened from the poison we sipping/ Tryna keep this love intact,” he raps. The pitched-up hi-hats and echoing hand drums on “Marigolds” propel a hook about empowerment that lingers long after the cosmos go dark, with Noble proclaiming in the song’s smooth chorus. “I will be loved/ If the sun grows cold/ I will be blooming/ Like marigolds.”
Noble has an eclectic background, impacting her theatrical brand. She was raised by a jazz pianist father and grew up dancing. A former metalhead, she has played in whimsical bands at masquerade balls, and taught herself Ableton in order to stand out in a musical landscape dominated by men. As a television actress, she has appeared in NCIS, Parks and Recreation, and Lucifer. “I don’t really ever sound like anyone,” she said. “I want someone to hear a track and say, ‘That’s MJ Noble.’” Songs From My Castle Tower achieves her aim a hundredfold.
