The singing is what works the best here. The more that element is left alone to carry the music, the better it is. Things suffer a bit when there is too much production trickery working. The music overall has both a modern pop element and a lot of old school soul and R&B built into it.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Shine (Remix)
Piano leads out, but a modern rhythmic element quickly emerges. High pitched vocals join, bringing a bit of a soulful edge. This is a pop styled cut that is catchy and energized. While the music is over-produced, and the vocals get to be at points, the bulk of the singing is left clean enough to "shine."
I Choose You
I like this song quite a bit. It has a lot of old school R&B charm to it. This one avoids the over-production that was heard on the first song. I love the way the two voices work together.
All for Nothin' A mellower tune, this works reasonably well. It's not as strong as the last piece, though. It's more of a ballad. It just doesn't have as much of the old school magic.
Game
With more of a modern pop element at its heart, this has some classy R&B sound infused, too. I dig the guitar solo on the cut. That guitar manages to hold a big chunk of the piece. The saxophone is a nice touch, as well.
Haters The vocals are the selling point on this song. The backing arrangement is just sort of average modern mellower stuff. The singing, though, really stands tall.
Up Down I love the vocal performance on this cut, too. The piece is energized and more rocking It works better than the last couple songs.
Shine I like this version of the opener better than that one. It doesn't suffer from the over-production. That let's this really breathe. It's based on one of the best vocal performances here. Given the competition, that says a lot.
Shine (Bonus Mix) The closer is another mix of the song. I'd say that this one lands in the middle of the other two in terms of effectiveness.
