Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

I like Aisha Raine’s voice; it reminds me of Evanescence’s Amy Lee, only a little deeper and richer. I did not care for the mixing of all kind of styles to form something “new.” I guess I come from the philosophy of 'simple is better.' The instrumentals have an industrial rock feel and are pretty dark. I think the soundsd compete too much with the vocals, taking away from Raine's lryics.

Faith Honesty Trust is a pretty heavy song and Raine’s vocals carry a lot of feeling and emotion. The chorus is good.  It’s a fine song but there is something -- and I have to admit I'm not quite sure what -- that's not working here.  Wicked is a slow, dark song which flows with most of the other tracks.  If I had to choose a favorite, I think it would be D.O.G. It is the track with the most emotion on an album that, as a whole, is not lacking from an emotional standpoint.

Raine’s vocals are chilling and sinister -- a sound that works well with the heavier music. Losing My Grip is another example of a song I liked -- it's kind of industrial, like Linkin Park, and showcases the darkness of her vocals.

Based in Maryland, Aisha Raine defnitely found a way to express her feelings through the music she makes, but overall, I feel a disconnect between the instrumentation and the rest of the pieces that make up each song.  While the listener can get a sense of where Raine is coming from through her lyrics, the arrangements are just overpowering, covering up if not just plain drowning out the meaning, which is unfortunate. There is some real potential in the vocals and lyrics here that, to my ear, were unable to shine on Never Broken.