[rating=4.00]
This is an impressive début. Alice Smith’s voice has a range and depth you don’t hear often these days. Her playful approach to a soulful mix of pop, R&B and rock serve to emphasize, not undermine, the honest emotion in presentation and lyrics. She can vamp it up without crossing the line into cheesy, and can pull it way back to be intimate without being milquetoast.
“New Religion” shows off Smith’s emotive voice, and the heavenly production work on the album that doesn’t skimp on strings and effects, but never goes overboard. “Woodstock” (no it’s not about the concerts) has a sing-song hook that characterizes the song’s sense of freedom from city life. And classic rock guitar flares and her languid delivery provide “Fake is the New Real” an anchor to a tune that turns its eyes on the vapidity of pop culture. Song after song, there is something here to be appreciated.
For Lovers is refreshingly real. Not because it’s an amalgam of styles, but because it’s a respectful homage to all these styles that have their origins in the same place – the soul – and are facets to be used as tools to benefit honest songcraft.
