America is changing. We Americans are embracing our diverse cultural backgrounds in an unprecedented way. Allison Scola embraces her heritage and American story very personally on A Braver Kind, and it's worth a listen. This young woman uses her deep foreign roots and a complete openness to all of world music when creating her songs. You will find many unique sounds on the album, from the short, exotic introduction featuring the Middle Eastern oud to the final fading tones of her clarinet. At the same time, though, the easy pop feel of most of the music is comfortable and familiar. Heart-felt tunes that reflect her soul such as “My Naked Heart” lie alongside light pop tunes like “Jump,” making for a fascinating mix reflecting many influences.
As far as pop influences go,”In Your Arms” has moments that are quite reminiscent of Jewel's “Standing Still.” In fact, there are more than a few similarities between the two artists, with the main difference being Scola's employment of a wider variety of instruments and musical styles. “Your Key” is a heartfelt tune that thematically could be Scola's version of “I Can't Make You Love Me” though again the music is all Scola's and not so similar to Bonnie Raitt's. On the more traditional end of the spectrum, “Amore Amore” is very like an Italian (rather than Southern Gospel) rendering of “Down to the River to Pray” from “O Brother Where Art Thou”with Allison Scola taking the lead instead of Alison Krauss.
I have only one true criticism of the album. The use of drum loops on “My Naked Heart” and “I Want to Touch You” lend the songs a canned sound that has to be overcome by the rest of the music - which does overcome that initial sound. The use of folk instruments such as accordion and mandola and classical instruments such as clarinet really help the music to stand out from average pop music. Now this is not to say that all use of electronics on the album are bad! “My Naked Heart” also has some interesting synthesized effects that add to rather than taking away. Overall, this is an enjoyable album. It seems familiar in it's freshness, because it is pop with something more. That something more is Scola's history, honesty, and originality.
Donny Harvey-MuzikReviews.com Contributor
January 29, 2009
