A review on Miss Lira and her latest offering.
Before I start this article I would like to point out that I was not a Lira fan @ the beginning of her career. infact I remember an occasion at a kempton park gig I did with KB motsilanyane, where she was an opening act and she was boo'd off stage! I remember feelin so sorry for her and all I kept thinking was if it was meant to be it shall be.
Fast forward to six yrs later On February 1st,and she is now the leading entertainer on the South African music scene,Lira released her much anticipated fourth studio album, entitled "Return to Love".
NOW a big Lira fan, I was biting my fingernails off with anticipation and anxiety; I don't know how many times I wished that she surpasses her last award-winning effort, "Soul In Mind" in terms of flavor, musicality and a great listen. I knew she wouldn't want the sound to be the same as her past work, I knew that she would want the feel of this new album to be different from her past albums. I expected that she would take me on a journey of love, drawing on her experiences of being newly-married, and transport me with her voice, coupled with the excellent band to a love high like I have never experienced before.
So,I gave the CD a listen all the while, my mind was going haywire trying to imagine the sounds, the lyrics, the melodies. I listened to the CD from beginning to end, in one sitting. I paid particular attention to each of the 11 tracks, trying to get each track, not wanting to be lost in translation. I did not utter a word until the last track ended. When it was done, I just sat there, marveling at the power I knew this woman possessed. She proved it, my wishes had come true, I was so happy, I could have done a happy dance right there.
For this album, Lira introduces a very organic sound to her music. It is not fleeting, nor is it trying to be something profound. The band serves as a companion to her voice rather than an accompaniment, it never drowns her out. The lyrics are sharp, direct, the words we each wish to speak to our lovers. I can sum up the direction of this album and the message it delivers by saying it encourages us to live the best lives we can, to love ourselves and others as best we can, to care for our country and nature as best we can. Almost all the tracks on this album, I now regard as favorites. Look out for the love tunes "Phakade" and "With my eyes", classic Lira ballads. And in the vein of "Makubenjalo", are "Mali" and "Abba", irresistibly lovable songs with great lyrics. "When I Dance", "U and I" and "Get into action" are sure going to be firm favorites in the party scene, for their cheerful upbeat tempo. Also, Lira goes reggae with "Valley of Darkness", a song that has stuck in my head a lot over the past few days.
My only gripe with this album is that Lira didn't include a song entitled "Return to Love", I just think, based on the title, it would have made for an awesome lovemaking slow jam.
This is an excellent product from Lira, as we have come to expect only this caliber from our "Princess of Afro-Neo-Soul". This album is a definitive move by Lira to reaffirm herself as what she started out her career wanting to be: an R&B Soul artist. The exclusive premier of "Phakade" was aired on Channel O and that too was an amazing piece of work!
I'm proud of the girl who got Boo'd off stage and went back to the drawing board to come up with something fresh new and evidently works wonders!
MsDiva©Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
Before I start this article I would like to point out that I was not a Lira fan @ the beginning of her career. infact I remember an occasion at a kempton park gig I did with KB motsilanyane, where she was an opening act and she was boo'd off stage! I remember feelin so sorry for her and all I kept thinking was if it was meant to be it shall be.
Fast forward to six yrs later On February 1st,and she is now the leading entertainer on the South African music scene,Lira released her much anticipated fourth studio album, entitled "Return to Love".
NOW a big Lira fan, I was biting my fingernails off with anticipation and anxiety; I don't know how many times I wished that she surpasses her last award-winning effort, "Soul In Mind" in terms of flavor, musicality and a great listen. I knew she wouldn't want the sound to be the same as her past work, I knew that she would want the feel of this new album to be different from her past albums. I expected that she would take me on a journey of love, drawing on her experiences of being newly-married, and transport me with her voice, coupled with the excellent band to a love high like I have never experienced before.
So,I gave the CD a listen all the while, my mind was going haywire trying to imagine the sounds, the lyrics, the melodies. I listened to the CD from beginning to end, in one sitting. I paid particular attention to each of the 11 tracks, trying to get each track, not wanting to be lost in translation. I did not utter a word until the last track ended. When it was done, I just sat there, marveling at the power I knew this woman possessed. She proved it, my wishes had come true, I was so happy, I could have done a happy dance right there.
For this album, Lira introduces a very organic sound to her music. It is not fleeting, nor is it trying to be something profound. The band serves as a companion to her voice rather than an accompaniment, it never drowns her out. The lyrics are sharp, direct, the words we each wish to speak to our lovers. I can sum up the direction of this album and the message it delivers by saying it encourages us to live the best lives we can, to love ourselves and others as best we can, to care for our country and nature as best we can. Almost all the tracks on this album, I now regard as favorites. Look out for the love tunes "Phakade" and "With my eyes", classic Lira ballads. And in the vein of "Makubenjalo", are "Mali" and "Abba", irresistibly lovable songs with great lyrics. "When I Dance", "U and I" and "Get into action" are sure going to be firm favorites in the party scene, for their cheerful upbeat tempo. Also, Lira goes reggae with "Valley of Darkness", a song that has stuck in my head a lot over the past few days.
My only gripe with this album is that Lira didn't include a song entitled "Return to Love", I just think, based on the title, it would have made for an awesome lovemaking slow jam.
This is an excellent product from Lira, as we have come to expect only this caliber from our "Princess of Afro-Neo-Soul". This album is a definitive move by Lira to reaffirm herself as what she started out her career wanting to be: an R&B Soul artist. The exclusive premier of "Phakade" was aired on Channel O and that too was an amazing piece of work!
I'm proud of the girl who got Boo'd off stage and went back to the drawing board to come up with something fresh new and evidently works wonders!
MsDiva©Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
wow funny how life works, guess it shows that with persistence and hard practice one can actually hit that nail, so to say. so she's a success story, she's managed to carve a niche for herself, I dont like her new offering, but perhaps it will grow on me...
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