Cali Blake – Cicadas In The Sun Review

From the poetic New Orleans comes another great female voice into the musical ring. We are in a great time of creative female vocals, from Feist to Ramsey to Cali Blake, all of these artists work hard to create a real sense of emotion and depth in their music. With her newest album titled Cicadas In The Sun, the talented Cali Blake shows us why she deserves a moment of your time.

Opening with the ethereal sounding track titled High, this song is a great way to be introduced to what Blake brings to the table. It is a simple song in ever sense of the word, but it allows Cali Blake’s smooth and sensual vocals to come through, and set’s us up to enjoy the rest of the album for what it is.

The track that grabbed my attention is titled Transient Song. This track has more life to it than many of the others that, at some points, simply take too much time up with low drawn out vocals. This song aims more for the potential radio approach, but even then it lacks the necessary beat to carry it forward into that territory. A beautiful and simple song with the pleasant and expected vocals all over it.

The album ends with the melancholy infused track titled So Nearly Free, which is a sweet blend of piano, airy vocals and that familiar sadness that seems to run throughout the whole album. Every song on Cicadas In The Sun is no doubt going to make you want to reflect on the harder times in your life, and that introspection might not be for everyone. Cali Blake shows us that she can sing and control that angelic voice, but where this album falls a bit short is in the structure of the songs.

There needs to be more than one airy, drawn out song after another if Blake is to rise to the aggressive top of the musical pile. In the future I would like to see what Cali Blake is capable of when she has heavier beats, more exciting layers of sound, and a chance to set those vocal chords free. Until then, I will sink my teeth into Cicadas In The Sun for a while longer.

6/10