Review Summary: A capella at its best, this wonderful Australian group shows their talent in a marvelous debut effort.
Jazz has never been my area of interest. I like it, sure, but when asked to choose between this and say, Mammal, the choice is simply too obvious. This is why I was pleasantly surprised when I played this album and found myself enjoying just about every minute of it, humming along to the harmonies happily and even tapping a few of the beats.
A classic example of TION’s sound is found right at the beginning. “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” is a lovely gospel a capella song that kicks things off brilliantly, with the quartet’s vocal harmonies working in gorgeous unison. And for most of the album it continues this way, one or two instruments are added in most of the songs and things are constantly kept interesting by vocal scat sections which are beautifully arranged and sung.
The group excels in what they’re supposed to, vocals. The females especially offer warm, embracing melodies that bring peace to the heart and mind. The backing instruments too, when they appear, have a quiet skill and passion that makes them stand out without overshadowing the leads. And most of the time the two click nicely. Take for example “Take My Breath Away”, with its peaceful alto vocals, a solo performance by Naomi, and an electric guitar arpeggio helping her set the mood. It is a testament to the strength of the four that the solo performances are just as strong as the group ones.
They also explore some rather interesting effects, like an imitation of a trumpet in “Just A Closer Walk With Thee”, and a vocal speed up for the end of the final track which leaves a memorable and quirky kick
The lyrics are wonderful as well, with a few experiments out of the usual gospel hymn style. The best of these is “Shed A Little Light/The Gulf War Song” which was written about, yes, you guessed it, the gulf war.
"What makes a person so poisonous righteous
That they think less of anyone who just disagrees?"
So with lovely instrumentation, amazing vocal arrangement and delivery this appears to be a flawless masterpiece. It falls just short of that, however, with the album lagging at the end due to repetition. Quite a few later tracks sound a lot like the earlier ones, making me skip them to get back to the beginning. As well as this, one track stands out for all the wrong reasons. “My Funny Valentine” is not only the longest song on the album, its hideously boring because of it. Several minutes of drums, trumpet and almost inaudible vocals create an easily skippable track.
Nevertheless, that is a minor complaint amongst a sea of praise as the quartet excel in every area they should and then some. Not all the experimentation worked, but that is to be expected. Overall a highly enjoyable A capella album.
