The group Sound Liberation mixes styles ranging from modern R&B to rap and hip-hop, with this album, produced by jazzer Gene Pritsker, showing the good, bad and ugly of the genres. Of the former, a trio of songs by Chanda Rule, “Breath”, “Need” and “Closer to Me Than My Own Breath” are gorgeously arranged ballads that mix strings, brass and rhythm to passionately expressed messages. I could listen to this lady all day. Other songs that include profanity and misogynist messages may seem like they are trying to sound “relevant” and “in the ‘hood” mix present day electric beats with messages that are guaranteed to increase the feeling of victimhood. Rogers and Hart it ain’t, but keep an eye out for Rule; she’s going to win you over!
Composers Concordance Records