Reviewed by David Faulkner

From Whitney Houston through Mariah Carey to Beyoncé, it seems the requirement of the female soul singer is to pile melisma upon melisma, such that if they were to sing about eating a slice of toast, it would be invested with Shakespearean drama. It's refreshing, then, to hear this debut CD from Florida's Arielle Jones, who takes a contrary approach to the notion of what a good R&B vocal constitutes. Here is a singer who can step on the gas when she needs to, but who restrains herself, making for a wider dynamic and emotional range across the eight tracks on this release. Further, rather than adding hip-hop styles, her added layers on top of conventional soul music tend to come more from soca or calypso influences. And although there's a lyrical dip into banality on "Holy Slide" (which implies that doing a certain dance is a sign that 'you've got the Spirit now'), there is much elsewhere that acknowledges the importance of faith in the midst of difficulty and suffering ("I Don't Really Know" on the break-up of a relationship, "Always Be There" on depression, and others). It all makes for a welcome and promising introduction to the scene from Ms Jones. Were she to get a bigger budget for her next release, she would shine.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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