Charity Ekeke
She
(Unity Gain Inc.)
Charity Ekeke’s She is a powerful statement from a female singer/songwriter with a unique vocal delivery. Opening with the spunky, upbeat guitar and percussion sway of “If the Roles Were Reversed,†we get a female Peter Gabriel-layered music call for feminine strength. There is some brilliant guitar leading halfway through the album as the beat and percussive groove stays the same throughout. We get a slower and lower range of Ekeke’s vocals on the stirring sway of “All I Know,†and then pure pop sensibility on “He Takes All My Breath Away,” which features a great use of layered vocals in the chorus. This early on, we are being treated to a solid variety of colors from Ekeke. We’re back to layered-like chanting and Ekeke’s unique vocals up front over a driving snare on “These Times.†“I’ll Catch You If You Fall†offers a nice flicking backing and walking bass, giving in an upbeat (in both music and lyrics) tune that will float your mind across a nice island breeze, while “She Bears,†which follows (and ends the album), mines that a 70’s funk roll. I like the production on this one a lot, the layering of guitars, keys, and drums, creating a solid bed groove behind Ekeke. We end on the same lyrical subject as we did opening She and certainly pushing the overall concept here to a conclusion.
