Una means "one" in Spanish, but in this case, it refers to the trio of Richard Larsen, Jennifer Cook, and Eddie Barajas, whose restrained, low-key sound is hard to pin down. Their promo material says they blend triphop, lounge, Latin, spy movie soundtracks, and torch singer ethics into jazz/electronica influenced downtempo. Not to say there aren't enough styles folded into Una's, but I could also hear elements of classical music.

1. Angels At My Door
2. Nightingale
3. Happy The Man
4. Barbara Henry
5. Casa Del Fuego
6. Fading in C# Minor
7. Freedom On Fire
8. Hate
9. Jonah
10. She Wolf
11. Wordless
12. Blue Dress

The CD begins with Jennifer Cook’s multi-tracked vocals sounding like a choir in the aptly titled "Angels At My Door", though the serenity quickly takes a somewhat melancholy twist. Cook’s voice is young and clear, yet she often sounds like a world-weary chanteuse whose steady coolness might at first make the twelve tracks hard to differentiate. The closer you listen to it though, you begin to notice how she takes different approaches in each song, despite an overall aura of detachment.

Each track has a different beat and style, ranging from the bouncy "Happy the Man" to the fast bass and wah-wah pedal driven "Casa del Fuego". "She Wolf" has a lilting melody like chamber music. The instrumental introductions to the tracks are mostly built on electronics, though sometimes there's a smattering of guitar, electric piano, or turntable scratching that create an air of mystery for the ambiguous lyrics that eventually slink onto the scene.

Cook sings languidly on many or even most of the cuts, but she is always backed by beats and lush instrumentation that maintain a lift throughout carefully structured and blended songs that benefit from some beautiful melodies.

I put this CD number Una on my list (sorry, couldn't resist that closer).

~ Dave Howell

Add a Comment