Sean Cleland makes memorable solo debut

“THE PROCESS OF”

Sean Cleland (Sean Cleland Music)

Multitalented Sean Cleland has been best known until now as a member of the Hollow Spheres, a quartet he helped found in 2009. He builds on that solid foundation as a solo artist. The 14 songs are all originals; producer/musician Imua Garza and a new group of studio musicians join him in bringing them to life.

The songs document important changes for Cleland personally as well professionally. He dedicates the album to “my lovely fiancee,” and several songs sound inspired by the emotional lift love can provide.

With “Curl,” a love song, Cleland sings of wanting to “just follow the curl in your hair.” Romance also motivates “Stars,” with its message that there are times love does come with the speed of light.

Cleland steps into the role of a traditional singer-songwriter as he comments on social classes with “Socialites.”

Garza and several of the studio musicians join Cleland as co-arrangers of his work. The results suggest diverse influences: mainstream American rock, 1960s-vintage English pop, Bruce Hornsby, Guns ‘n’ Roses, John Mayer and late-1960s Beatles. There are times when something sounds familiar, but nothing sounds plagiarized or ripped off.

The soothing instrumental coda to a song titled “Thick as Thieves” stands out amid memorable lyrics. So does the instrumental reprise of “Curl” that pops up near the end of the project.

Visit www.seanclelandmusic.com.

“SMILING”

Jai the Band (Jai the Band)

“Smiling,” the new download-only single by Jai the Band — Jai Rodgers (guitar, vocals), Daniel Rodgers (drums, vocals) and Blake McMillen (bass, vocals) — should already be in high rotation on Hawaii’s “island music” radio stations. The trio’s cheery new tune fits the island format perfectly. Basic Afro-Caribbean rhythms propel a tale of romantic escape that’s told in standard faux-Jamaican English. Whether you call it island music, Jawaiian or reggae-rock, the trio plays it with 100 percent genuine commercial appeal.

Every generation needs new love songs it can claim as its own, along with the classics inherited from previous generations. “Smile” is one for the kids. “I’ve been searching for a girl like you, eyes as sweet as the ocean blue. There’s no other one that makes me feel the way I do,” the trio sings. The song is new, the sentiment timeless.

Visit revivethelivehawaii.com/artist/jaitheband.