CD REVIEW: eystone – “Up For Air”
By Stacey Board - 05/24/2004 - 07:14 PM EDT
Artist: eystone Album: “Up For Air” CD Review:
The songs are engaging and interesting in a melodic moody Dawson’s Creek way, and in fact they would be a great bet for many of the WB shows that tend to find ‘unsung’ indie music right now.
If I am interpreting the website correctly, “eystone” is the vehicle for Karen Rush’s songwriting. Her songwriting is interesting and very well supported by her band, and by Victor Munoz in particular. His guitarwork adds a great deal. The songs are not most people’s clichéd idea of female songwriting. Rush can deliver a melodic ballad and a rocker just as well as anyone.
The songwriting has loads of the passion that is very pleasing and engaging. I would like to hear on their next recording Karen Rush take just a couple more passes on some of the vocals. I like her voice but in a few spots her vocals give me the impression she’s acting it, trying to sing ‘like’ someone and not just singing it with her own voice. There are also spots, as in track five, where her harmonies are just plain off pitch.
The passion in the singing is great. And to argue against myself, Gwen Stefani has an extreme example of an affected voice and it works very well for her. Rush is nowhere near that extreme example!
Rush is a talented songwriter with a very solid band in Eystone. “Up For Air” shows off her songwriting talent and the band’s solid playing.
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