All it takes is 3 chords and a dream!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Review: Paulina Logan - If You Try


Paulina Logan - If You Try
2009, Paulina Logan


Three years after releasing her debut album, Wallflower, Paulina Logan continues to dance on the edge of boiling. Her music has been featured on an international compilation (Bad Girls Don't Cry), in a web series (Hillers) and even in a motion picture (Rotkappchen: The Blood Of Red Riding Hood). She has an endorsement from Daisy Rock Guitars and has been covered in both digital and print media. Logan has placed herself in a position from which breakouts can happen. Her latest effort, If You Try, seems to reflect the careful optimism such a position might bring.

If You Try kicks off with Shut The Door, a busy rocker that starts out as a slow pace but kicks up through the gears as the song progresses. Musically interesting with solid guitar work, the song suffers from mediocre lyrics and a disturbingly repetitive chorus that is likely to turn off listeners. Logan has an interesting voice that's capable of big heavy sounds but occasionally gets bogged down in its own weight. LA is a lively song about doing your time in a less than ideal place in order to get where you want to be. In case, Logan wants to be in LA, but not necessarily living in the way she is. She abides her small apartment with a dream of someday having a lot more. Write You A Song is a song of mixed messages full of amorous and sensual intent. While there is a certain pointedness to the song, the energy is almost ambivalent. Forever languishes in the warmth and comfort of love and happiness. It's a peppy little song with just a hint of Country feel; a highly enjoyable listen that makes the best use of Logan's voice. Everything works for Logan on Forever, just as everything seems to fall apart on Lovely. The heaviness in Logan's voice comes out here to poor effect. The song, one of love and hope, seems to contain the energy of neither as it languishes in its own lazily rolling inertia. The melody is pretty, but it's not enough to turn a tough listen into an enjoyable one. Logan closes out If You Try with a dance remix of Lovely that's ill-advised at best.

If You Try has some bright moments and some lessons. Not to parrot American Idol, but song selection is key. As an artist it pays to know your voice and choose or write songs that fit your voice, rather than trying to make your voice sing things its not comfortable with. Paulina Logan experiences various degrees of success or failure in this area on If You Try. At her best (Forever), Logan is charming and a sweet sound. At her worst, Logan's voice is unnecessarily heavy and without energy, creating a difficult listening experience. The whole range can be heard on If You Try. I'll be curious to see where Logan goes from here.

Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Paulina Logan at http://www.paulinalogan.com/ or www.myspace.com/paulinalogan. You can purchase If You Try as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.

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