2005-04-20 - 03:10

Aslyn's Lemon Love

I’ve sat down to write this review three times. I never get past the first few sentences. I go back and forth about how I feel about this CD. Aslyn is a talented musician, no doubt about that. And, Polyphonic HMI has predicted she’ll be as big as Norah Jones, so I’ve felt like I should give it another listen. And, then I do and I think its okay, but I don’t really like it and I’m not sure why.

Lemon Love is catchy in that way only pop can be catchy. You find yourself singing along, “here’s a band-aid brand new for the bruises on your begging knees,” in spite of yourself. Just Enough has a bluesy feel that makes you sway. And, I can dig that.

If Britney grew up listening to Michael Jackson and Madonna, Aslyn grew up listening to Billie Holiday and Etta James. Her vocal style would be just as much at home in front of an orchestra as it says cascading over that pop racket. Although at times she sounds quite young, she has a strong voice and a good sense of style.

Ultimately, I’ve decided what I like and loathe about this CD is that it recalls stuff I remember listening to as a kid. Its got this light, bubble gum feeling like what dominated the late ‘80s. (Or, at least what dominates my memories of the late ‘80's.) Some of the arrangement and the tone of her voice reminds me of that one secular album Amy Grant put out and the piano intros drip like the sappy love songs Debbie Gibson sang, like in 493-1023. I half expect her to start singing about being lost in someone’s eyes.

What saves this from being just more poppy trash in which a woman either celebrates or laments love is that Aslyn can turn a phrase. “I don’t want to bite another nail and leave this hanging,” from You Got Me; Just Enough’s, “You’ve been there before so find the stub. Or Gotta Get Over You’s, “I gotta get over every piece that puzzled you and me,” all made me smile at the cleverness. Debbie Gibson never did that.

My favorite track on the CD Rainbow has this feel that makes me think it belongs in a musical. Its got that rhythm and motion that drips Rogers and Hammerstein and its invocation of the flood and looking for signs makes it layered. However, this is not something I could listen to on repeat.

You can check Aslyn out on her website and you can give her a listen at myspace.com where there are four tracks available for your aural enjoyment. As for the CD, if you’re looking for a little pop, I say pick it up. Its lyrically clever and musically competent, two things that can’t often be said about pop as a genre. Eh.

1 Comments

Artificial Sound for the Artificial World: The Changing of Times--UnderOATH

Still more noir than you are.