Montreal Canada’s own Nikole Texidor releases her latest CD entitled “The Power of Yang” in 2010. She is heavily influenced by her father Joseph Texidor – a prominent Jazz Percussionists. The group formed in 2009 after Texidor received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to compose bilingual pieces based on journals she had written as a young girl. Pretty fascinating concept. 

The CD gently takes to flight with Track 1 “Pantyhose” a slow building into piece that flows & ebbs its way through to emotional fruition with its mesmerizing rhythms, industrial type vibe & hypnotic vocal delivery from Texidor. Track 2 “Irrationalities” is an infectious follow up piece that serves up mesmerizing Tabla groove against easy flowing guitar rhythm & hooky vocal melodies from Texidor. "This too will Pass” delicately serves up yet another compelling piece of music with well-placed harmonies & hypnotic vocals from Texidor. As the CD slowly unfolds I can hear many different musical textures that are hard to pin down. The music itself is very melodic & provides an impressive blend of hip hop ambience, & progressive Techno with an Industrial aftertaste. Overall the songs are very melody driven. Texidor’s voice goes holds the melody line & is full of vulnerability & a slice of innocence.  The musicianship from all the session players involved is effective. This project brings to the table some impressive production folk & mostly fits a line up of an Ambient production more than a traditional band. You will notice an impressive blend of lush harmonies, sound effects, & sonic touches layered within the confines of the mix with impressive percussive accents. Cornet, synth bass, & many well placed sonic touches & accents. The vocal layering if off the charts, & almost sounds like a choir more than a singer. Niktex fulfills her obligation as a vocal instrument when utilized in this capacity. The songs themselves are extremely dynamic, & progressive in nature. The songwriting is extremely creative, unique & original. Many of the songs have a theatrical ambience about them making for a very entertaining listening experience. I especially like how the whole CD just flows across the ears song for song & note for note - each piece somewhat interconnected with the next. From dynamic “Un Hiver Sous Les Draps” to dark & foreboding “Colours Blurred" You Started Shit” to Hypnotic “Manfather” & this CD has something for just about everyone. The CD ends with “Traffic in the Rain” the perfect finale statement.

This production is not without a few weaknesses. Texidor has a solid voice, but it’s fair to say she is heavily shielded by the rich umbrella of sonic ambience & musical soundscapes presented in each song. I wonder how well her voice would fair away from this musical security blanket. Thus I wish there were more solitary moments that showcased a world class vocal ability. I don’t recall any vocal risks that would indicate this to me. Because of this vocal seclusion I felt like I had no idea who Niktex was as an artist when the ride was finally over. I also wish many of the musical textures were more earthy, organic with an acoustic foundation. Instead all songs are very synthetic & overly saturated - a weird twist for acoustic music. Although the high end touches were quite brilliant, many of the beats & rhythms presented on the CD sound extremely thin & robotic - lacking serious bottom. Overall - it’s a thin sounding record.  I’m not even sure what genera this is? The write up says Neo Jazz. First - I’ve never heard of Neo Jazz, Second – this is not Jazz – not even close! Third - this CD crosses so many musical boundaries it suffers from a genera identity crisis. As a result the production spreads itself way to thin across the board. The mixing is quite expensive, exotic & dynamic – perhaps it’s a bit too dynamic. I like mixing that is relatively conservative & stays in the fairway. This mix is all over the place & feels overcompensating. There comes a point in time where this kind of production effort can become somewhat overqualified & even counterproductive for the artist in question. Some of the vocal layering is a bit over the top. Niktek sounds more like a Choir more than a singer. All songs over 5 minutes drag you to the finish line. It’s fair to say the catalogue is repetitive song for song. When the ride is finally over I felt as if I was hypnotized by 1 very long winded song. If this review seems lopsided it merely reflects the extremes presented on The Power of Yang.