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In
our September issue, we reviewed the debut album by an
up-and-coming pop star from Sweden (Amanda, reviewed by Jessica
Harley.) This month, our travels take us to Iceland and the
debut by 24 year-old Icelandic singer, Svala. I hope next month
our travels will take us to Aruba and I'll get a phone call from
my editor to be on the next flight there. (I'll settle for coach
class, by the way.)
The release of Svala's debut album,
"The Real Me," in the states and worldwide shows just
how global the music industry has become as of late. This is
good for a couple of reasons: First, listeners are exposed to a
wider variety of music as global musical styles are easy to find
either on radio or on the internet. Second, pop music, which can
go long periods of time without being groundbreaking, is able to
draw from all these other influences. Svala's debut CD
definitely benefits from this. Her music starts with a
pop/R&B base, but considering her list of influences reads
like a who's who of singers and songwriters, it expands from
there. From splashes of dance music to tinges of jazz to various
European influences to a track which
features an orchestra
and a gospel choir, this is more along the lines of pop music
plus.
The real test of a pop album though is:
"Is the music fun?" Metal music is for scaring your
neighbors. Blues and country both provide opportunities to cry
in your beer. Opera proves that if notes are possible there is
someone out there who can hit them, and polka gives accordions
one last chance to inflict punishment before they are laid to
rest. Pop music, however, is fun music and Svala's CD is a fun
CD.
This is not to say that pop music can't be
serious. However, I put on a pop CD to enjoy myself and with
Svala's CD I enjoy myself. From the opening R&B-tinged
"The Real Me," to the closing, stunning ballad
"Lay Your Hands On Me," I find myself getting into the
music and singing along. (Thankfully, Svala can't hear me
singing along.) This doesn't sound that impressive until you
consider that pop music isn't normally my music of choice to
listen to.
One of the things I haven't liked about pop music as
of late is that a lot of it has a manufactured sound. However,
this CD isn't like that, at least to me. Svala co-wrote five of
the songs on this album, and those she didn't co-write, she
exercised some creative control over. There are some studio
effects present, and given the amazing amount of technology
musicians and
producers have to work with, this isn't surprising. There are
also real backing instruments however, and as mentioned earlier,
such welcome additions as the orchestra and gospel choir.
The CD itself is not an album of hits.
Instead it is an album of songs most of which have the potential
to be hits. The music includes club-ready dance songs like
"Love Me, Love Me Not" and "Never Should Have Let
You Go," and a dose of funk with "Count To Four."
A surprise is a cover of "You To Me Are Everything," a
song from the 70's by British band The Real Thing. There are
also several ballads, including my two favorite songs on the
album, "The Wonder
of My World," and "Lay Your Hands." "The
Wonder of My World," concludes with orchestra backing and a
gospel choir lending their magic to the track. "Lay Your
Hands" is fueled completely by Svala's voice which usually
mesmerizing is absolutely breath-taking on this track.
I don't think I'll ever be a huge pop
music fan at least while radio stations and record labels spend
more time cashing in on trends than developing artists, but this
particular CD has given me something I really enjoy listening
to. I appreciate talent in any form and I think Svala definitely
has it. This album is a fun listen for those who enjoy both pop
and R&B music and it is also a good "get your feet
wet" album for those like me who are still gun-shy of top
40 music.
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| Artist |
Svala |
| Title |
The Real Me |
| Label |
Priority Records |
| Reviewer |
Trey Parks |
| Rating |
 |
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| homepage |
www.svala.com |
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