Swamphouse - The Fade EP

Swamphouse - The Fade EP
2009, Swamphouse

Swamphouse brings their visionary mix of Hip-Hop, Soul and R&B to market with their EP, The Fade. February Winners in VH-1's Song Of The Year Contest for 2009 (Break Down), Swamphouse has been mixing it up in Los Angeles and its environs since a 2005 coming out at B.B. King's. Led by rapper Pause, Swamphouse has one of those sounds that's so infectious and original that people stop what they're doing to find out who that band is. For The Fade, Swamphouse drafted three former students of Cal State Northridge's Jazz Performance Program as a horn section, adding a new layer to their already soul-satisfying sound. You'll dance 'til you're dizzy.

The Fade EP opens with Break Down, a delicious mix of Hip-Hop and Funk that will get your booty shaking and your feet moving. Pause smokes on rhymes and Devin is killer on vocals in the chorus. She Wants To Move will get you moving with heavy-duty Funk and a horn section that will have you grabbing for your platform shoes. Good Girl is a highly danceable day dream about finding the right kind of girl. It's refreshing in a genre know for misogyny to hear a song so positive about women (and consequently about self). Twisted is the perfect dance tune with a romantic component that will feed a lot of hormones on the dance floor without sounding like a come-on. Swamphouse closes out with This Is My Life, a highly danceable bit of autobiography that might just be the best song on the disc.

Swamphouse knows how to make you dance. In an era of tripped-out electronic dance music, Swamphouse brings it all old school on instruments played by people and creates some of the most fun dance music of 2009. Swamphouse is worth spending some time with. Bring The Fade to your next party!

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Swamphouse at http://www.theswamphouse.com/. You can download The Fade EP or individual tracks through Pause.

Review: Janid - Twisted

Janid - Twisted
2009, Zonisphere Records

Puerto-Rico born songstress Janid is a musical chameleon with whose voice you may have heard before. She's lent her voice to a project with Frankie Cutlas; to movie soundtracks, radio and television commercials and even serves as the Spanish language voice on 1-800-JETBLUE. Janid's music has been previously featured in the Puerto-Rican mini-series El Ultimo Caso del Detective Prado, leading to her first record deal with Dead Ninja Records in 2006 and a move to New York City. Her debut album, Goddess, led to 4 star ratings on VH-1 and Amazon.com as well as selection as New York's Sexiest Latina by Farandulife Magazine. Her early music was in the R&B genre which prevailed on her second CD, One. Janid also scored a part in the motion picture Bare Knucklez, but felt highly constrained by the path she was on. A six-week sabbatical in 2008 led to a groundbreaking decision to attempt a foray into the realm of electronic music. With her third album, Twisted, Janid brings her high-powered vocal style to dark and roaming electronic tales punctuated by heavy beats and a slightly deranged demeanor. This "good girl gone bad" has wowed fans around the world, and Twisted is the album that just might take her to the next level of name recognition.

Janid jumps right to the head of the club class with Take Me Out, a pulsing, pounding dance tune with a solid melody and amazing vocal performance from Janid. Twisted brings a little raw sexuality to the dance floor as Janid seems to fully hit stride on her blend of R&B, House and Electronica. Think Mary J. Blige meets Kylie Minogue. Do Me is the song most likely to make Janid a household name; a near perfect blend of pop, dance and R&B. With a beat so relentless you can’t help but dance, Do Me also has the sort of melody line and hooks that mean you’ll be humming/singing it for days or even weeks. Janid shows a little of her softer side (vocally) on Red Velvet Curtains to great effect, proving that she’s not just a belter but a singer, and quite accomplished at that. Sacrilegious is a song that could garner Janid a lot of attention, but it’s not what you might think. Sacrilegious in this case refers to living your own life without the “keeping up with the Joneses” constraints that many fall prey to. The song itself is moody and bordering on dark, with a rhythm that would make Madonna blush. Other highlights include Puppet, Not That Far and Freedom.

Janid is a dynamic and talented performer with a voice that grabs you and holds on for dear life. Add in a smoldering stare that could meld steel and a Goth style of dress and demeanor and Janid is perfectly positioned for a run at the top of the dance/electronic charts. Janid is superstar in the making, and Twisted is destined to gain her a much wider audience. Twisted is a stunning, unsettling, and ultimately successful album.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Janid at http://www.janidworld.com/ or www.myspace.com/janidmusic; or you can tweet along with Janid at www.twitter.com/Janid. Twisted can be purchased at Amazon.com or as a download via iTunes.

Review: Tara Kalyn Norman - Tara Kalyn Norman

Tara Kalyn Norman - Tara Kalyn Norman

2008, Tara Kalyn Norman

Tara Kalyn Norman's day job is high school freshman in San Antonio, TX. When not at her studies she writes and performs highly personal and affecting folk/pop songs. This young musical phenom has already opened at Mountain Stage, been twice recognized as a monthly finalist in VH-1's Song Of The Year competition in the Folk category and been invited to perform at The New Music Seminar in Cleveland, OH. Norman has a voice that falls somewhere between Maren Ord and Edie Brickell, and a very simple, concise song-writing style that serves as a perfect vehicle for her musical ideas. Her debut recording, Tara Kalyn Norman, is ten songs of heart-baring emotion that touches the listener while showing subtle flashes of the artist she will become.

Tara Kalyn Norman's eponymous debut is a Lo-Fi affair capturing just Norman and her guitar. The songwriting is relatively simple and straightforward, allowing Norman's vocal sound and personality to shine through. Her voice isn't perfect in the fashion of Edie Brickell, but is a strong, expressive and sweet vessel for her heartfelt lyrics. The CD opens with Would It Be Bad To Say, a waffle on whether to say those three magic words. What seems at first an adolescent ponderance proves to be a universal theme of human emotion and amazingly apt. Holding On was a monthly finalist in the VH-1 Song Of The Year Competition and is a regretful rumination on love lost.

Gummybear is a sweet love song and one of my personal favorites on the album. Norman touches on young love and devotion without an ounce of cliché. Anymore is a powerful song of self-fulfillment in the face of loss and is the lead in for One More Day Alive (the other VH-1 Song Of The Year monthly finalist). One More Day Alive is not so much a war protest song as a counting of the cost of war. The song has a lot of power and shows a real attempt to understand the mind of a soldier in combat. Up next is my other favorite song on the CD, I Tried, with a very pop sound and a sweet, memorable melody. Be sure also to check out Get Used To Seeing My Face, a step off song from a girlfriend to a young boy’s mother. The song shows an emotional toughness that speaks well for the future as a songwriter.

Tara Kalyn Norman is a very talented young artist. She writes strong, coherent songs that mostly have a distinct sweetness to them; all based on strong emotion or emotional movement. Norman is still developing as a songwriter and artist, so you will hear some of the lyrical awkwardness that was common in early Jewel songs. Her songwriting style is a bit simplistic as befits a young songwriter, but Norman shows the drive to improve as she is studying piano and will learn harmonica in the near future to allow her to expand songwriting options, sounds, etc. The disc itself sounds like a well done home recording, but with all of the sonic flaws and imperfections that come with demos. Keeping all of this in mind, Tara Kalyn Norman's debut is a breath of fresh air. Anyone who's ever strapped on a guitar or stepped before a mic has been where Tara Kalyn Norman is right now, and she shows incredible promise. This disc is worth checking out as much as for what Tara Kalyn Norman may become as for what she is right now; a very talented, budding young songwriter.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Tara Kalyn Norman at www.myspace.com/tararocksyourmom. You can purchase a copy of Tara Kalyn Norman by contacting her through her MySpace page.