Record Reviews

SANDRA BOROY ~ SUS LOSEN 164 (Barcode: 7090025831645) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Norwegian vocalist / songwriter Sandra BoroyFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with guitarist Jonas Dyrstad ValbergFind albums by this artist, bassist Guttorm Strande SyrristFind albums by this artist and drummer Jonatan Schanke EikumFind albums by this artist. The album presents six songs with lyrics in Norwegian and two wordless pieces, each repeated twice, altogether ten tracks, all composed and written by Boroy. After developing the material and perfecting her style for almost four years Boroy finally recorded this album, boldly stepping into the tough world of vocal music, perhaps the most difficult of all musical forms. It becomes immediately obvious after the music starts playing that she is not another young female in the endless stream of hopeless copycats trying to "make it" using a sexy voice or even worse her sexy look. This album is a profound statement of individuality and complete disregard of fads and fashions, simply putting on the table an honest package of compositions, lyrics and heartfelt execution. Sticking to lyrics in Norwegian is another important sign of honesty and candor, avoiding the usual trap of "broken English" that most starting vocalist fell into over and over again all over the world. The music fails an immediate attempt of classification; it is Jazzy, but not mainstream oriented, it displays the Scandinavian melancholy and lyrical approach, and yet differs from most other Scandinavian music, presenting a unique stylistic statement. Boroy´s usage of vocalese, both on the wordless tracks and during her solos within the songs, is where she sounds most interesting and promising, but her vocal delivery is definitely overall excellent. One of the basic assets of this album is the close cooperation between the vocals and the guitar, which accompanies her very closely, sometimes even unisono, creating an unusual atmosphere and an outlandish sound effect. The rhythm section also does a splendid job, staying often in the background and stepping in elegantly exactly when appropriate. The bass supports the melody line admirably, which is especially important when the vocals and guitar are busy with stating the complex melody lines. The drums are elegantly supporting the music, being often subdued, but on the wonderful vocals / drums duet track the drummer shows not only his skills as a player but more importantly his ability to listen. Overall this is an amazing debut album, especially so in the vocal department. With such talent and determination God only knows what these young musicians can achieve eventually. It´s one of those albums that make being a music critic a pleasure. Kudos to Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist for his vision to release this album on his superb LosenFind albums on this label Records label; most other labels would have rejected it for being "too ambitious" – what a world we are leaving in!

Updated: 21/09/2016Posted: 21/09/2016

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