Reviewed: 11-12-2020
Reviewer: Tom McCarter
Genre: General
FCCs: none
If You Like: Roberta Flack, Rachelle Ferrell, Stevie Wonder, Robert Glasper
Review: Shola concludes her trilogy of CDs about rebirth after escaping the Santa Rosea fire & having all her instruments & music bur. This music envelops you with music, voice, & spoken word, offering a vision of hope in adversity.
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
*1/ Quiet (4:26) - piano starts> slow meditative song without words> slow fade
**2/ Roots (6:32) - percussion starts> slow song without words and deep bass notes slowly builds in volume> pause> slow song continues> slow fade
***3/ Incubation (3:50) - synth starts> slow song about shifting your context and seizing opportunity swings to midtempo & funky, then mellows>slow fade
*4/ Trapped (3;36) -synth starts> slow song about the power of music to heal seings to midtempo> slow fade
5/ Shattered Boundaries (5:51) - synth starts slow> slow song quickly builds to midtempo> fade
*6/ Ignorance Veil (4:46) - Rhodes starts> midtempo song, including spoken vocals, about eage about climate change> slow fade
7/ Blippity Glip (3:36) - synth starts> uptempo song with pulsating synth & harmonies> fade
*8/ Youth (3:40) - electric piano starts> slow tempo instrumental jam swings to midtempo> slow fade
9/Saturday Jam (4:02) - synth starts> hesitating funky instrumental jam> fade
*10/ Blue Light (3:13) - synth starts with undulating notes> echoing vocals intersect> midtempo jam> fade
**11/ Risk Reward (2:30) -seesaw synth notes to start> slow gospel-like song about moving through fear slowly builds in volume & tempo> slow fade
12/ Truth (3:30) - vocal starts> slow song about privilege> quick fade
**13/ Eco-Anxiety (4:05)- modulating synth starts> slow song about climate change swings uptempo> fade
14/ Gift Of Grief (4:36) - a few notes on Rhodes starts> slow song with spoken word about loss builds to midtempo & funky> fade
*15/ Gift of Grief (Remix)(3:44) -a few notes on Rhodes starts> midtempo son with spoken word about loss builds to uptempo & funky> fade
**16/ Change the System (3:18) - vocal starts> uptempo song about finding value in change and adversity, includes spoken word> fade
***17/ Jazzolation (4:16) -flurry of synth notes/vocal starts> uptempo song about finding value in the pandemic lockdown
*18/ Pause (5:58) - synth stats slow & quiet> beautiful slow song about creating space for yourself> pause> slow song continues> builds to midtempo> slow fade