"Things to Break"
Erika Elona
(‘Aumakua)
Singer-songwriter Erika Elona put several years of work into her newly released debut album — a successful Kickstarter campaign, a track on a compilation album ("Alternative HI") and many hours recording the 12 songs she’s introducing here. All but one is an original, and she definitely has "legs" as a writer in addition to her talent as a vocalist.
The initial impression is that Elona and her producers are going for a contemporary country music sound. It’s the country-pop music of Taylor Swift rather than LeAnn Rimes or Gretchen Wilson, but there’s a recognizable country flavor in her voice and hints of country in the arrangements. That’s certainly not a bad thing these days — Swift is a six-time Grammy winner — and Elona’s voice has a similar but distinctive appeal that catches the ear and invites the listener to hear more.
The opening song, "Tangled String," comes straight from the middle of Swift country. Elona sings about being a girl with no money to "buy friends" who lives in a society where love is considered so "precious" that single women should never "spread it around." A touch of cynicism tinges her voice as she mentions that promises are easy to make and sweet words don’t often mean much. "Love" is a something some boys say "to get their way, and just because it gets them up her skirt, that’s why they’ll say it every day."
The songs that follow are also vivid lyrical snapshots of love’s ups and downs. There’s a country-pop feel on many of them, but Elona and her musicians slant others more toward rock. The biggest break with the format comes when Hawaii roots reggae rockers Dread Ashanti join Elona on a song titled "Genevieve." Yes, she can sing reggae style, too.
A remake of "Flowers in December," originally a 1996 album track by Mazzy Star, pays homage to one of the groups that influenced her. The final song, "Summer Will Come," is an acoustic duet with studio musician Neal Chin. It reveals another side of Elona’s repertoire.
www.facebook.com/erikaelonamusic
"Tangled String"
"Overhead"
Kaleo Vai
(Esperanza Music Hawaii)
Love. Loss. Loneliness. The search for that special someone. Looking back at love. Veteran singer-songwriter Kaleo Vai covers those timeless topics in engaging style in his new album "Overhead."
The title song describes the challenge of chasing dreams and taking risks in terms that also apply to ocean sports. In love or in the ocean, you can end up being in over your head.
Vai is also taking a risk with his music. It’s "island music" in terms of expressing the feelings of a Hawaii resident, but it doesn’t have the Jamaican-derivative rhythm favored by Hawaii’s self-styled "island music" radio stations. Will Vai get radio play in Hawaii? Maybe not, but producer-musician Imua Garza and percussionist Jon Porlas join him on arrangements that bring together elements of samba, bossa nova and tropical jazz in ways that give these songs international appeal.
Vai describes romantic feelings in memorable lyrical terms. "It’s not my living room unless you’re living in it/It’s not home-cooked unless you’ve dipped your finger in it/The day’s not good unless you’re there when I begin it," he tells the object of his affections in "Home Is Wherever You Are."
In "Pick It Up" he asks a prodigal love if she is "still the girl I knew three years and seven months ago?" He poses the question in such romantic terms that it’s natural to hope the answer is "yes" and that the woman has returned home to stay.
With these songs and others, Vai shares the highs and lows of a romantic’s life — seeking love, finding it and losing it, and sometimes reconnecting when circumstances change and the stars align again. Sophisticated romantics of all ages will certainly relate.
www.kaleomusic.com
"Overhead"
