Review Summary: Into daylight
Following in the footsteps of the Nightwish alumni that preceded her, Floor Jansen's debut solo album is an exuberant and life-affirming affair. Occupying a middle-ground of sorts between the virtuosic opera style of Tarja and the more rock princess explosiveness of Anette, Jansen's vocal both soars with graceful aplomb and canters with husky affability. Paragon serves as an endearing display of showmanship and ability, with uplifting lyrical content and a pleasant, listenable songwriting style. Unlike her forebears, Jansen opts for a more poppy, alternative flavour for her solo material, in a stark contrast to the symphonic metal stylistics and hard rock tendencies that erupted through the Nightwish bedrock and permeated the personal efforts of Turunen and Olzon. It is certainly interesting to hear a slightly different mode of music from the singer, and, for the most part, this sets the tone of the project wholly apart from the Nightwish sound (although comparisons are inevitably going to be made). Even though there is a distinct tinge of the familiar about the experience, it is still extremely likeable and operates through a more personal, uplifting sense of expression, which is present throughout. Unfortunately, there is also a flatness to the release's style that hinders the quality overall, with safe, unsurprising pop songwriting working against Floor's excellent vocals.
Paragon manages to straddle a border between radio-friendly power balladry and assertive rock excitability with an accessible, if dulled, edge, and is always enjoyable even in its simplicity. All tracks operate on very familiar territory when it comes to structure, but there are occasional interesting songwriting segues that slightly bolster the experience out of the constraints of a typical pop rock record. 'Invincible' makes compelling use of an orchestral contingent, emphasizing the musical texture to an impressive degree. Similarly, 'Come Full Circle', with its use of strings in the chorus suits the tone of the more rock-oriented sound. Even though the empowering subject matter is a little cliché, the instrumental choices at least demonstrate commitment to the expression, and Floor's vocals are impressively bold on both counts. There are moments of more sombre musicality, such as on 'Armoured Wings', Fire', and 'Hope', the latter of which is an understated guitar-led ballad with an affable, subtle development to its musicality which plays a wonderful backdrop to the lush vocal accompaniment.
There are instances of grand, overblown vocal displays that evoke the Nightwish comparison a little too strongly at points, such as on the final third of second track 'Daydream'. A pleasantly diverting song in and of itself, and aside from the more subdued instrumentation it feels like an alternate take of a Nightwish cut. Whilst it works on its own terms, the elemental force that would typically make the track more expressive when in the hands of the metal outfit may feel lacking to some who are aware of Jansen's work with the band. For those unfamiliar with this context, however, the complaint would be a complete non-issue. Conversely, opener 'My Paragon' exemplifies the opposite of this slight over-reliance on the established sound, featuring Jansen stepping clear of expectations entirely and producing an anthemic road trip track with more than a tinge of country. It's rousing, rhythmic, and manages to highlight Floor's vocal ability whilst still delivering something unusual for the singer. Regrettably, moments like this which feel comparatively risky are few and far between on Paragon, which results in the album feeling somewhat uninspired all over, even with the sporadically elaborate instrumentation.
Diversity is not the album's strong suit, as despite the occasional production flourishes there is a staunch typicality to the overall sound, both in terms of structure and composition. The particular style that has accompanied Jansen's stint with Nightwish weaves its way into the more accessible music found here, particularly by way of the vocal melodies. Since these inflections and familiarities work so cohesively with the amended musical content though, it acts almost as an easter egg for listeners familiar with the artist's background. The main issue with the release is its somewhat unimaginative nature- both the livelier and more sombre moments are competent and demonstrate a splendid vocal capability, yet the songwriting struggles to inspire any real excitement, despite being more than mildly diverting on a track-by-track basis. It is laudable that Jansen has opted for a musical style apart from her usual output with Nightwish, and her debut full-length is undeniably uplifting and colourful in its intentions. Moreover, there is undoubtedly an audience for Paragon, especially with individuals who found the Nightwish brand of symphonic power metal a little too full-on. Regardless, the album feels very contained and safe, and the more rousing and expressive moments here are stifled by this confinement; the sound accompanies Floor's vocals admirably, but is unable to truly hold them aloft.
