“Ashanti,” Ashanti
The flavor of the month is “plain.”
Urban music’s fickle spotlight turns its brilliant glare on Ashanti Douglas, its chanteuse du jour. Preceded by the singer’s high-profile appearances on hits by Ja Rule (“Always on Time”) and Fat Joe (“What’s Luv?”) plus her own No. 1 leadoff single “Foolish,” “Ashanti” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s album chart and set a record for the biggest-selling debut by a woman.
Chalk that up to timing, not substance, because “Ashanti” doesn’t make a good case for the newcomer. Her vocal coos are silky enough, yet they’re overly fortified by backing coos, creating a big anonymous swirl of coos.
The production values are likewise limited – cheesy, synthetic music heavily reliant on samples. And Ashanti takes writing credits on all the songs, despite the fact the lyrics are strictly of the dumbed-down variety, obsessions over relationships that could parallel the inarticulate ramblings of a middle-school student.
Even the better tracks never get in gear and amount to nothing more than extended choruses.
Rating (five possible): 2
“Only A Woman Like You,” Michael Bolton
The recent success of Celine Dion’s “A New Day Has Come” sends a clear message: America still craves schmaltzy adult contemporary music.
That has to be encouraging news for Michael Bolton, who attempts to get his career rolling again with “Only a Woman Like You.” Bolton isn’t in the same league with Dion – he hasn’t been hot in a decade – but he has at least one gimmick on his new release that just might work By thickly layering his own backing vocals into a wash of support for his lead voice – as he does on the ballads “To Feel Again” and “I Wanna Hear You Say It” as well as the Latin-tinged, dance-oriented first single “Dance With Me” – Bolton creates the illusion of a boy band. But he 49-year-old singer can’t keep the one-man-boy-band shtick going for a full album.
For what it’s worth, the album is something of a polished production marvel, with swell little nuances like an engaging percussive roll on “This Is the Way” and a mystical, sensual rhythm on “Slowly.” And on the rare occasions Bolton isn’t straining, he isn’t such a bad singer.
Rating: 2
“Here It Comes,” Fiver
Fiver’s “Here It Comes” begs a question, answers it and gets back to business.
The question: What would happen if the group cut loose from its self-imposed restraints? The answer: A disaster.
The California quintet named for a rabbit character in “Watership Down” kicks off its new release with its trademark “shoegazer” music. On the first two tracks – “Speeds of Light” and “Buildings and Homes” – a soft electro-bed of synthetic noise cushions the muted “live” band that seems stuck in neutral. David Woody’s androgynous vocals are the expressive variable to the fairly hypnotic blend.
Then the group starts shaking out of its methodical trance with a fussier and off-putting “Tinywaves” before spiking into the shrill “Goner,” a cut that finds the band glaringly out of its element. Fiver eventually segues back into its comfortable niche – mellow, lullaby-like arrangements (“Warriors,” “O Fearless One,” “On Our Way”) driven by naove, off-kilter vocals that rise above and sink into the music.
“Here It Comes” is largely a hookless album, and its subliminal appeal is an acquired taste. Yet as long as Fiver has learned its lesson about taking it up a notch, the taste is worth acquiring.
Rating: 3