Liz Vice is a gospel singer. That may or may not bother you. It kind of bothers me for a lot of reasons, but, at the same time, the woman has an amazing voice and she has put together a lovely soul/r&b band to play behind her. The overall result is a very pretty and mellowish kind of release.
The album starts with Drift Away which is built around a strange organ sound, rumbling and deep. Vice's voice is smoky and close and melancholy over the organ drone. Other sounds rise up around her, including harmonica and strings. She sings about drifting away from Jesus over layers of droning abstract sounds. It's a nice effect.
Baby Hold On is a spiritual with organ, funky bass, and a full chorus wailing behind her. The song is epic, huge, and beautiful. It is happy and glorious and moves in a way that reminds me of the blues as portrayed in the movie The Blues Brothers. This is the song that they sang in James Brown's church after Jake and Elwood left!
Vice gets her new wave on for Brick by Brick. Keyboards tinkle and in the middle Vice and her band handclap the percussion. I think that this is another religious song, as she sings about "they crucified the one", which i guess means Jesus.
Red Roses has wandering keyboards, guitar plinks, and her voice sultry and relaxed. It's a mellow hazy tune that sort of drifts along. It fades into Fancy Feet, which swings with a lovely horn accompaniment to her voice.
To Dance with Death starts with some light guitar, her voice close. It's a lovely tune with a really great drum beat and a nice muted trumpet part. In a way, this reminds me of The Blue Nile.
A piano, ponderous and full, accompanies her voice on Save Me. Others voices come in to sing counterpoint to Vice, which is a lovely effect. I like this one too.
And then the album fades out with Where Can I Go, a short and sultry tune. Vice sings over a chugging beat and low tinkling keys. A lovely fade out to the album.
It's a short album though, only about half an hour. But i like what Vice is doing. It's pleasant pop and she has a great voice.
This record has a bit more of a Christian vibe than i normally review. To be honest, expressions of religious identity kind of creep me out. As a non-religious person, people who talk this much about Jesus have, historically wanted to kill people like me for daring to disagree with them. So there is that to keep in mind...
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