On her past albums, Clara Hill has always lain her lyrics and sweet, soulful vocal treatments over music you could either categorize as nu jazz, future jazz, house, or even broken beat, but performing on Clara Hill's Folkwaves: Sideways, she plays with a style of music that's perhaps best described as retro-rooted future folk. Imagine "Sideways" as an expansion on the sound she explored in the song "Wake Up" from her previous full-length All I Can Provide.

1. Be Like That
2. Everything (feat. Marc Mac)
3. Sad Girl
4. Interlude
5. Wonderful World (radio version)
6. If Only
7. About You (feat. Thief)
8. Ocean Queen
9. Once I Know
10. Don't Go (feat. Rivulets)

It will be no surprise to anyone who has spent a little time listening to this woman's music that her lyrics are centered on the wide variety of emotions and introspective musings that surround love, relationships and self-discovery. Clara Hill plays the lonely wall flower in full bloom better than almost anyone. This new acoustically driven, jazz and soul influenced sound canvas actually makes a perfect fit. Perhaps, even better than the house sounds she's played with until now.

When composing her previous albums, Clara Hill has typically worked with a large number of producers. On her previous album, she worked with no less than eight different producers. Here, she only lists a few credits, among which is Marc Mac on the song "Everything", which has a bubbling, acoustic jazz rhythm and bright, soulful vocals. This one is sure to hit deep with fans of Jazzanova.

She pushes beyond the simple acoustic structures at times with the inclusion of orchestral string arrangements, and "Wonderful World" displays a coupling of these two worlds of instrumentation to incredible effect. Her lyrics are simpler here than in many of her other songs, but the building energy of the song really benefits from the tightly looped verses. On other songs like "If Only", acoustic and cello mix into a beautifully lush sound that complements her vocal tone very nicely.

Thief steps in on "About You" for a rare vocal duet, which he at times leads with Clara on backup. This dynamic flips back and forth throughout the song, with Clara taking lead, before the two return to a balanced duet. The string arrangements on this one remind me of a few Beatles songs, but it's a really subtle point in the song.

The album ends with "Don't Go" featuring US artist Rivulets, wherein the featured artist acts as the main vocalist. Extended Spirit and Jazzanova are also noted with production and other contributions on this album.

Sideways displays an evolution in sound for Clara Hill, where now her music, lyrics, and vocals seem to breathe and live as one being.

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Originally released in Europe on Sep. 9, 2007

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