Ruthie Foster - The Truth According to Ruthie Foster (2009)

This extraordinary songwriter/performer tackles life’s big issues throughout her sizzling new album. On it, Ruthie repeatedly testifies to her core message - that through all of the ups and downs of living, you must stay true to yourself. The pain as well as the joy of love, the strength it takes to weather life’s challenges, the hope that grows from seeds of faith and wisdom: All of this breathes inspiration and celebration into The Truth According to Ruthie Foster.

And the music brings it to life. Truth be told, Foster could sing the phone book, jam on a laundry list and send everyone home happy. But the combination on The Truth According to Ruthie Foster of uplifting lyric and electrifying vocals, backed by a band of world-class players bristling with soul, proves impossible to resist.  -Ruthiefoster.com

1. Stone Love
2. I Really Love You
3. When It Don't Come Easy
4. (You Keep Me) Hangin' On
5. Truth
6. Love In the Middle
7. Nickel and a Nail
8. Dues Paid In Full
9. Joy On the Other Side
10. Tears of Pain
11. Thanks For the Joy

India.Arie - Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (2009)

Message-laden songs about love and peace laid against a soulful backdrop have been India.Arie's mantra ever since she popped into national consciousness with 2001's multiple Grammy Award-nominated "Acoustic Soul." Reinvigorated after the painful breakup chronicled in 2006's "Testimony: Vol. 1, Love & Relationship," Arie provides a multicultural dialogue about love and human politics. "Testimony: Vol. 2" encompasses her signature melodic grooves ("Chocolate High," "Yellow"), exuberant roots/folk music ("Therapy," "Better Way"), an Ivory Coast vibe (a revamp of Sade's "Pearls") and hip-hop (the telling "Psalms 23"). Along the way, Arie shares her musical platform with everyone from Musiq Soulchild and MC Lyte to Jamaica's Gramps Morgan and Turkey's Sezen Aksu. Although more upbeat than its predecessor, "Vol. 2" requires some time spent listening. Those who do so will be richly rewarded.—Gail Mitchell 

1. Intro - Grains
2. Therapy
3. Psalms 23
4. Chocolate High
5. He Heals Me
6. Interlude - Grains
7. Pearls
8. River Rise
9. Yellow
10. Better Way
11. Interlude - Grains
12. Long Goodbye
13. Ghetto
14. The Cure
15. Outro - Grains 
16. A Beautiful Day (bonus track)

The Old Romantic Killer Band - The Swan With Two Necks (2008)

With the emergence of artists as diverse as the Dodos, No Age and even Flight of the Conchords, 2008 has been particularly kind to the concept of ‘the duo’. Unfortunately for the Old Romantic Killer Band, 2008 is all but over. As we all turn our attention to the imminent delights promised by 2009, the debut album from this young Leeds band is about as fresh as a pint of warm, stale lager.

The aim of the Old Romantic Killer Band is clearly to fuse bluesy guitar riffs with punk rhythms. In the live setting, at least, this works reasonably well, but the lack of variety on record is truly stifling. Taken individually, tracks like Girl, You Have All The Fun, Lovers Pass and Things to Come are all respectable enough efforts, but in the context of the album – which at 22-minutes is hardly an epic – they seem to coalesce into one stodgy, unappetising whole.

The tinny production job is partially culpable here, but I think The Swan With Two Necks’ failure ultimately lies with the band’s refusal to broaden its horizons or, at the very least, embrace its limitations. -David Coleman

01 Girl You Have All The Fun
02 Pigs
03 Trouble Causer
04 Your Girlfriend Is A Drug Addict
05 Lovers Pass
06 Things To Come
07 The Resolve
08 You Knew I Had A Drakness In Me
09 Four Seasons Blues

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