When you think of Balkan music the first sounds that come to you are those of ecstatic gypsy melodies, walls of brass horns, and a generally unstoppable reverie of fast moving beats. Well, that's just one side of Balkan club music. Eddy Meets Yannah are here to remind you that Croatians know their way around soulful rhythms and laid back beats like it's nobody's business. On Myspace the duo summarize their sound as "Freestyle/Neo-Soul/Electronica", but all you really need to focus on is the neo-soul part. Their second album "Once In a While", on which Yannah Veldevit produces, sings, plays the instruments, writes the songs and arranges them with the production help of Eddy Ramich, is sunny, sunny soul music bent on putting a smile on your face.

1. Once in a While
2. Bad Fairy (feat. Earl Zinger)
3. Solid Ground
4. Losing Wings (feat. Capitol A)
5. Baby's Got It's Own Way
6. No One's Gonna Love You
7. Tik Tak
8. Who is It? (feat. Amalia)
9. To Keep
10. Finding Right Tune
11. Preacher Song
12. Daylight
13. X-Pressure
14. Postman
15. Takin' Future Tenderly
16. U & I

At 16 tracks long Once In a While is longer than most albums, so even without hearing it you can expect to get a mix of great, good and forgettable songs, but thankfully, the majority fall into the two most positive categories. Honestly, the first half of the album is basically without flaw, which isn't to say the second half doesn't hold some gems. Regardless, there's a little something for everyone.

The album's cover photo, showing the duo in hoodies (hoods down) and jeans with nearly matching kicks has the ability to be misleading. If they were following convention, you'd see them in cocktail dress and suit, leaning against some very clean, very reflective surface, doing their very best to look serious and contemplative. Instead, they are in average clothes and jumping in the air against a simple gray backdrop. And they're not even looking at the camera. Let that be your first clue.

Yannah must have grown up singing to a lot of 80s soul tapes. There are times when I just can't help but feel it as I listen to songs like "Baby's Got It's Own Way". The style is pretty much a standard among soul singers though, so it's actually not easy to confine Yannah's intonations to a single decade of soul. Her voice mimics a very classic style for the genre and she does it very well. If her voice doesn't make you feel all warm and happy inside, you need to talk with someone about the walls you're putting up.

Throughout the album you'll find some guest singers. Earl Zinger delivers an amazingly moody performance on "Bad Fairy", while Capitol A brings his famously charismatic, yet unobtrusive vocal flow to "Losing Wings". The last guest is Canadian soul singer Amalia, who wraps "Who Is It?" in a heavy blanket of soul melodies.

When it comes to the instrumentation, you'll find Yannah more than knows her way around electronics and song arrangement. The keys, effects and loops are played out nicely and are perfectly matched to the wide variety of percussive styles applied, from the stuttered patterns of broken beat, to straightforward house beats, and anything you can throw into a collection of soul and jazz influenced songs. It's interesting to know that Yannah first began studying music theory before she was 10, and is now completing her second course of study in sacral music (Gregorian Chant, organs, etc.). She's got more going on in her head than your average musician.

Once In a While should really hit the sweet spot for fans of sunny soul and broken beat.

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