Grapefruit Sound Lab
Eight Days Across America
(Howe Records)
A drum machine bass drum pattern, danceable keys, and Sarah Naughton’s spoken and sung vocals on the kinetic “A Song About Freedom,†leads off Grapefruit Sound Lab’s new Eight Days Across America. An array of musicians lend their talents to the eight tracks here, making quite a thick brew of danceable tunes.
“To Make You Mine,†the tune that follows, slows things down slightly. It features a sly swirling lead violincello and solid, strong male vocals. With its low bass beat, electric guitar strikes, and drums, I think “The Flavors of Tears†is the most upbeat commercial track of all the tracks here, a great single to be sure. And “Love Cards,†featuring Amuka’s wild strong vocal and a thick snapping backbeat, is sure to get you grooving. The guitar lead here is precise and sly, I just love the funk of it!
Grapefruit Sound Lab and Sarah Naughton use the string players to full effect on the last tune here, “Dum Dum Gun.†The lyric is a little simplistic; the overall effect a little overt, but the point is made in an almost nursery rhyme vibe.
One would be remiss not to notice the musicians on Eight Days Across America. Tomoko Akaboshi and Fung Chern Hwei plays violin; Amuka, Layonne Holmes, Sarah Naughton, and Gina Volpe (who also plays guitar) sing; Ron Lawrence manages viola, Tomas Ulrich, violoncello, and Tristan Marzeski percussion. Andrew Synowiec joins Volpe as the other electric guitarist.
