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Kimia Penton

Where the Rain Falls

Review by Gary Hill

I'm not so sure that the cover image of this set does it justice. The violin as the focus of the cover gives two impression. The first is that the violin will be the central feature of the set. The second is that this will be some kind of heavily classical music based record. Neither of those things are true. Sure, Kimia Penton plays violin, but it's not the central feature of any of this music. Her voice is the real selling factor here. The music leans toward pop music with elements of things ranging from jazz to country, folk and even progressive rock at times. All in all, this is a set that lives and dies with Penton's vocals. Fortunately she's an exceptional singer and makes this work like a charm. The only complaint is that this is roughly 25 minutes long. I'd love to hear more from this artist.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018  Volume 6. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review
Not Goodbye
Intricate guitar serves as the backdrop for this balladic number. The vocals are evocative and quite pretty. After the first verse the cut shifts to a movement that has some definite jazz-like qualities to it. It turns more toward a pop rock sound from there as it works onward. After the minute and a half mark it gets even more "oomph" added to the arrangement.
Show Me Love

This comes in quite jazzy and reminds me of Sade quite a bit. Penton's violin adds some intriguing textures to this piece. The vocals have a bit of a soulful vibe, but the music is packed full of magical musical elements.

Where the Rain Falls
There is a bit of a down-home, country music element on display here. The cut isn't far removed from the previous two overall, though.  There is some cool violin work in the instrumental segment later in the track. That movement has some definite fusion built into it. The whole cut gets some of that in the mix as it continues to evolve from there and works back to the vocal section.
Stepping Stones
Piano and vocals make up the concept on this balladic piece. That format really allows Penton's beautiful voice to really shine. She is a wizard in terms of her singing skills. If you want proof of that, look no further than this track. It's an exceptional performance.
First and Last Time
Acoustic guitar and voice starts this. The cut works outward from there after a time, getting reinforced as it continues. Overall this song probably fits under the folk ballad title.
Alive Again
We're back into jazzier territory here. There is a lot more energy to this number, and it has a cool groove.
 
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