Evolution of the Blood Star - CD

I love Norine Braun...I would bake her a thousand cakes for but a single 'yeah'. Allan - CamelsBackandForth The Vancouver-based artist is both jazz purist--as in the semi-classical pop-inspired, "Skylight"--and an avant-garde neo-slam poet--as evidence on "Brave." Both mixes are great. It's the tunes that sound like funky jazz filtered through early Talking Heads that make Evolution of the Blood Star compelling listening. Ethereal numbers such as the aforementioned "Brave," "In Space" and "Q: Evolution of the Bloodstar," with it's eerie chorus "Papa can you hear me?/ Have I made the grade?" are captivating.

Her efforts in traditional forms, however, are uneven. The song "Alberta" sounds like every other country-folk-rocker who goes indie. Braun's voice may not be strong enough to travel in the circles of jazz mavens like Cassandra Wilson. What Braun has is oodles of wit and cleverness, with an understanding of composition that is most elegant when it ventures furthest from traditional musical forms. CINDY FILIPENKO CIndy Filipenko - Herizons Magazine