Imade iN Truth

It’s one thing to listen to an artist by hearing a song here or there, but it’s another to listen to an entire musical work.  Alicia James’ single, Crazy in Love was like talking to an amazing person in a loud, crowded room, but her new album Seven is like talking to that same person over a long and relaxing dinner.   From listening to Crazy in Love, I knew that Alicia James has the creme de la creme of jazz vibratos and a very romantic heart.  But after listening to Seven and hearing how Alicia James would pull back her vibrato and incorporate R&B, Hip Hop, and acoustic rock, I recognized it would take much more than one song to introduce us to the extremely talented Alicia James.

It’s rare to find artists who can write about romance and self-esteem with the same lyrical prowess and emotional intensity, but Alicia is that artist.  The hard-hitting title track, Seven, quietly comes in like a typical love song, but roars into a defiant anthem for self-acceptance.  It would be expected to name this song ‘Complete’, but naming it Seven, the biblical number of completion, adds a spiritual grounding to the song that we are complete in the way God fashions us.  This underlying sense of wholeness is on Love Me So Naturally, where Alicia unfolds this song from an independent black woman anthem to a celebration of the strength and vulnerability of women.

Alicia has the gift of taking us to a lyrical fork in the road where she could follow the norm but chooses empowering lyrics instead.  Without the angry black woman neck roll and the over-squalling, Alica lets it be known that she expects the same love that she gives.  Fade Away may appear as one of those “baby, baby please” songs, but its actually Alicia refusing to be with a man who’s emotionally absent in the relationship.  On Your Perfect Woman, taken straight out of the R&B Quiet Storm playlist, Alicia examines her failures and pledges to be a better woman for her Mr. Right.  Again, she discusses the two-sided investment needed in relationships, which is truly love.    

‘Seven’ is an impressive, near-flawless collection of songs seemingly taken straight out of Alicia James’ diary.  It’s not musically expansive, but what’s lacking in musical diversity is made up in the range of topics Alica intimately addresses.   As I pull out my newly reinstated temporary Christian card, I hope that Alicia sings more about her spirituality.  She sings like a woman who knows she is loved by God, and this spiritual identity is what makes her music unique and inspiring.   Since I love to jack love songs for Jesus, check out Overflowing as I do an inspirational praise dance to this low-key worship song.  Listen to ‘Seven’   Facebook   Twitter   ReverbNation   Youtube