Azita continues dodging preconceptions about her music with her third solo album, Life on the Fly. While it's along the lines of Enantiodromia's subversive mix of jazz and vocal pop, this album is sharper, poppier, and stranger, with more of a rock edge -- though it's still a far cry from the angular fury of
the Scissor Girls. Life on the Fly is also a more holistic work than its predecessor, with its nine loose-limbed pieces feeling more like smaller parts of a larger work instead of self-contained tracks. Songs like the opener, "Wasn't in the Bargain," a depiction of the devil coming to collect on his deal, and the title track bounce along on black humor and electric pianos, creating a deceptively smooth foil for
Azita's pointed vocals and lyrics. In some ways, she might be more formidable when she tries to sing prettily (or at least more conventionally) than she was with her previous band; like the music that surrounds her, she's rough and sophisticated at the same time, mixing intensity with stylishness and an aloofness that borders on the blasé. On "Life on the Fly,"
Azita sounds like a renegade socialite getting ready to take the scene down from the inside, and her voice adds a gravity and strangeness to even the lightest songs on the album, such as the swinging ode to a Svengali, "Miss Tony." But even in its sassiest moments, there's something eerie about Life on the Fly, a feeling that grows as the album progresses. "Another Kind of Trade," a somber, sad, more than slightly vengeful breakup ballad, is one of the most complex songs on this collection of songs that take unexpected twists and turns. Life on the Fly closes with two songs that make up the album's yin and yang: "Antarctica," despite its rolling, seemingly easygoing pianos, has a gray, muted melody; "Yours for Today," meanwhile, is downright sunny, albeit off-kilter. Even if
Azita has traded her more overtly confrontational style for one that is more subtle, she's still challenging her audience. ~ Heather Phares