I heard
about this cd through my grapevine of online friends
and decided to check it out. I heard she sounds like
Janis Joplin. I've also heard she's going on tour
with Point of Grace. Needless to say, I was curious.
Let me first say that these songs are not the ones I
would have picked for her debut cd. mostly co-written
with Billy Smiley, (who also produced) lyrically they
are pure feel good pop, and seem custom made for top
40 radio cross over. Musically, this cd runs the
gamut from pop/r&b to edgy rock. Not a lot of
cohesion, to my ears anyway. Now that I have said all
that, this girl can SING!! She is 19 years old, and
white as can be, but sings with power and passion
that have no business coming from such a person. She
really shines on the more rocking songs, like "the
narrow", a guitar driven tune that sees her pull out
all the stops. She seems to really be having sun on
these songs. On the more r&b tinged songs, such as
"you make it fine", von seems to be holding back a
little more, and while she still sounds great, I'd
like to see her take a few more risks. She does show
us a very soulful side of her voice on these songs,
not hiding behind big guitars and drums, just
singing. bottom line? A mediocre cd, saved by one of
the best voices I have heard in a LONG time. She
could sing circles around Britney, Jessica,
Avril, or
any of those girls. Iin fact she is in a whole
different league. She belongs in a category with
Bonnie Raitt, whatever category that is.
If you are
in any way a fan of female vocalists, singing
pop/rock, you need to pick up this cd. Her voice will
make you forget any other shortcomings with the cd. I
also suspect if you catch her on tour, she will be
even better live.
~Larry Laster
