Short Reviews - 3
| Cover |
Musician |
Title |
Comments |
 |
Marginal Man |
Identity |
lp from the archive (released 1984) |
 |
A Moving Sound |
Little Universe |
|
 |
Bennett Lin |
Bobtail Yearlings ep |
|
 |
Trio Tarana |
Climbing the Banyan Tree |
|
 |
Mari Iijima |
Macross Song Collection |
|
 |
Frank Chicken |
Get Chickenized |
lp by a Japanese expat duo based in the UK (in some ways, a forerunner to Cibo Matto) |
 |
Charlie Chin, Chris Iijima, & Joanne / Nobuko Miyamoto |
A Grain of Sand |
the first Asian American album |
 |
Kevin So |
Along the Way |
soundbites of Kevin's late father are interspersed with songs recorded in concert at club in Cambridge, Mass. |
|
Woody Pak & Prime |
Hyped - Urban Remix |
Rock 'n rap... |
|
Kinzli |
Going just to be going |
What’s most impressive about this release is the mix and production values. Kinzli’s warbling matches up well with different instruments (such as the sax and slide guitar), and doesn’t overpower. The sound has a very live presence, as if you’re right there in the studio.
One common theme of her songs seems to be noting past and present relationships separated by time and distance.
The tradeoff in such a mix is that the lyrics can get submerged by the instruments. That happens from time to time in this recording, yet it doesn’t hide the fact that Kinzli tends not to rhyme her lyrics. Going against convention would be okay if the purpose was to highlight particular viewpoints or choice of words. Unfortunately, the lyrics do not dazzle and often do not phonetically match up with the melodies. Some wordsmithing is what’s needed. Perhaps, she might try injecting more vocalese or scat or nonsense words like that used in the 2nd cut, a charming bossa nova tune.
|
 |
Will-W |
Bodytalk |
Will-W warbles his way, with varying impact, through a collection of songs aimed at the dance floor. The better ones appear up front, with the exception of the bonus track... |
