Post by jptheprofessor on Mar 16, 2008 22:03:21 GMT -5
JANA LOSEY – BLOCKS (no label) Jana Losey’s sophomore album, Blocks, finds the Lawrenceville-based singer, songwriter and pianist expanding the frontiers of her musical and creative world. Over the disc’s eleven songs, we hear Jana stretch out her pop songcraft with clever, engaging melodies and varied, fleshed-out arrangements. With help from her songwriting partner, producer, guitarist and backing singer Melanie Peters, Jana mixes acoustic rock and keyboard pop, coloring the sound with various elements from digital beats to strings, layered vocals and more. As a result, the album never stays in one place long and offers a variety of angles, from the industrial Trent Reznor-ish tones of the confrontational “Little Wars” to the psychedelic Beatle-like charm of “Still, Calm and Warm” to the jazz piano-tinged arrangement on “Ice Queen.” Jana’s smooth, expressive and free-ranging voice provides the constant through it all, sounding confident and assuring with thoughtful, personal lyrics. She offers themes of encouragement and reinforcement on such songs as the driving opener “Have You Made It,” the tender piano ballad “Stay” and “Goodbye Penelope;” and shares observational perspectives on relationships and people on “Swimming in It,” “Easy to Love” and the tranquil album-closing title song “Blocks.” The mix by Grammy-winner Phil Nicolo (Fugees, Lauryn Hill, John Lennon) gives these songs depth and warmth, and brings out the brightness and delicacy of Jana’s voice and delivery. On Blocks, Jana Losey raises the bar and broadens the parameters of her pop songcraft, in the process revealing a deeper and more cerebral artistry. (The CD can be purchased starting April 1 through www.janalosey.com.)