Tarpan 2014
Hippiedom re-inhabited with barefoot emotions – dancing and dreaming.
Here’s another young songwriter in Narada Michael Walden’s artist development list, and this time the reverend drummer-producer veers away from his diva template, as Christina Holmes seems to have come from a folk kind of idealism. Strange it may seem, yet such a standpoint can be viable given a modern groove, as the sixteen songs on display, all but one Holmes-Walden co-writes and most of them featuring her acoustic guitar, prove. So the alluring reggae breeze of “Summer Fun,” devoid of today’s cynicism, announces the agenda that marries simple joys to the countrified vocals, and “Message For The People” offers a more anthemic skank with magnetism heightened thanks to Jim Horn’s brass.
Despite the singalong-prompting “If You Believe” – bronzed by Matthew Charles Heulitt’s licks whose riffs spice up a hit in-waiting “Don’t Block A Blessing” – it’s hard to shake off the trite lyricism and needless length of it all but once “Love Me Forever” sprinkles the flow with effervescent funk and Holmes runs for rap, that doesn’t matter anymore. Set against a collection of disco cuts suitable for a mirrorball marathon, including the hypnotic “Hold On” which twines homespun cloth around rave moves, are the strings-drenched “I Will Remember” and the soulful ballad “We Know What Love Is” that highlight a luxurious aspect of Christina’s voice. Here can be a diva in-waiting after all.
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