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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Haikaa

Work of Art

Review by Gary Hill

Electronic music, progressive rock, pop and a lot of other sounds are blended together on this album. It’s got catchy hooks and yet compelling music. It’s got a lot to please just about any music fan. It’s a cool CD from an artist who should be on a lot of people’s “watch” list.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Work of Art

A cool bass line drives the opening piece. It’s got an electronic pop texture to it and the vocal delivery is strong. This is catchy and still fairly involved and complex. It’s a great tune and an excellent way to start the set in style.

Everything I Know about Love
Mellower, the arrangement here is more stripped down. There’s definitely a progressive rock element to this tune. It still fits well into a pop scheme, though. It powers out later into a bit more full arrangement. It becomes quite an airy and lush piece of music as it continues.
Call Me by My Name
More purely pop rock, there are bits of modern country pop built into this tune. Multiple layers of music and vocals make this an intriguing number. There’s also a short, but very cool, instrumental section and it drops way down for a vocal dominated movement later.
Happy
There’s a fun pop rock groove to this tune. It’s an energetic piece that works quite well. Truly, it is one of the catchiest pieces on the set.       
I'll Wait
“I’ll Wait” is a balladic cut. It starts off quite mellow and powers up a bit as it moves on, but the main structure of a ballad remains intact.
The Only Reason
This is a pretty and gentle ballad. Unlike the previous cut, this one doesn’t rise up to the “powered up” ballad concept. It’s delicate and pretty.
Vision
A multilayered vocal section opens this cut dramatically. Then it works out to a rather jazzy arrangement for the song proper. This is a cool tune and another that fits this into progressive rock territory. It grows out into an expanded and powerful arrangement as it continues. Many layers of sound add to the drama and power of the piece as it works toward its eventual conclusion.
The Right
This time out we get a bouncy pop rock tune that’s quite cool. It has a driving rhythm section and some awesome hooks and vocal layers. The vocal arrangement, in fact, still pulls this song towards progressive rock in some ways.
You and Me

A bouncy and fun pop tune, this is one of the less complex songs, but it’s also very accessible and pretty.

 
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