Reviews
 Keep It Simple
Van Morrison
Roger McGuinn @ the Huntington IMAC, Long Island, NY - April 4, 2008
Emily Saxe @ the Allen Room/Jazz at Lincoln Center - April 5, 2008
Another Country
Tift Merritt
Be Your Own Pet
Get Awkward
Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (DVD)
Juno – Music from the Motion Picture
Various Artists
Yes - Their Definitive Story
Day and Night Driving
Seven Mary Three
InterMedia Arts Center 2/2/08
Huntington, NY
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Aslyn
Since the CD is obviously targeted for a young female audience, some might think it’s ridiculous for a guy in his mid-forties to review the debut album from Aslyn, entitled “Lemon Love.” These same people would probably find it even more ridiculous to hear that I actually like it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the type of CD that I’d recommend to my steadily aging male counterparts who find it increasingly more difficult to like anything contemporary. Far be it from me to suggest that they (we) should listen to music outside of our self-defined box every once in a while, or that diversity in taste is a good thing. No, I wouldn’t do that. But, if I were only capable of listening to music that is aimed exclusively at my own age bracket, then why would anybody care about what I have to say? It seems to me that there is more fun to be had in listening to as much music as is humanly possible, and judge it on its own terms, not mine, which is why I think Aslyn’s album is genuinely worthwhile, and why I think her target audience will soon be picking up on this new talent.
Forget the Britney clones and the Simpson sisters. Aslyn has a style that is much less manufactured and a sound that is genuine and unique. For starters, she can sing. I mean, really sing. Mix some of Avril Lavigne’s sassiness with some of Nelly Furtado’s individuality, then add a heavy dose of vocal chops and a few drops of interpretive ability, and you’ll get close to Aslyn’s sound. Granted, the subject matter is hardly new; Most of the material is based on getting the boy (“Be the Girl”, “You Got Me”, “Rainbow”, and “Here”) or losing him (“Gotta Get Over You”, “493-1023”, “Lemon Love”, and especially “Golden”, which counts its way through past loves), but she’s good at it. Her voice is strong and her personality shines through enough to make even the most plebian of topics sound like she genuinely means what she’s singing. Her positivity and sense of melody gives each tune an optimistic sheen that becomes infectious. With absolute top-notch production and a fabulously rich chorus, “Just Enough” is the best kind of ear candy, and deserves to be all over the radio this summer. Gray-haired guys might not get it, but that’s their problem, because like it or not, the future belongs to artists like Aslyn.
Grade: 
 
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