Zee Avi - Zee Avi

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:24
Size: 86,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:36)  1. Bitter Heart
(3:07)  2. Poppy
(3:06)  3. Honey Bee
(2:56)  4. Just You And Me
(3:48)  5. Is This The End
(3:32)  6. Monte
(1:44)  7. Kantoi
(2:35)  8. I Am Me Once More
(3:56)  9. First Of The Gang
(2:42) 10. Darling
(2:52) 11. The Story
(4:24) 12. Let Me In

The story behind the release of Zee Avi's self-titled debut album is very much a 21st century tale. The Borneo-born, Kuala Lumpur-raised singer/songwriter began posting songs on YouTube at a friend's behest. Soon after she began to accumulate a fan base, eventually including the head of Monotone Records, who, in tandem with the people at Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, signed her to a deal. The resulting record is very much in tune with the Brushfire aesthetic, with a warm and cozy sound, intimate vocals, and a general feeling of calm. While her songwriting is strong and she dishes out many fine melodies and perfectly fine lyrics, the real draw is Avi's vocals. Breathy, quiet, and sweet as spring, yet never wandering into cutesy territory, she hooks the listener in right away and never lets go. Songs like "Honey Bee," "Monte," and "First of the Gang to Die" are probably the most beguiling on the album, as they feature only Avi with guitar backing her vocals, but the instrumentation on the remainder never gets in the way (as you might expect from a Brushfire release). It's a very promising debut by an artist who already seems in total control of her gift; the trick now is to maintain the momentum and keep making records this good. ~ Tim Sendra https://www.allmusic.com/album/zee-avi-mw0000814914

Zee Avi

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Zee Avi - Ghostbird

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:36
Size: 82,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:52)  1. Swell Window
(3:23)  2. Anchor
(3:53)  3. 31 Days
(3:40)  4. Milestone Moon
(2:20)  5. Siboh Kitak Nangis
(3:15)  6. The Book Of Morris Johnson
(2:28)  7. Madness
(2:39)  8. Bag Of Gold
(3:35)  9. Concrete Wall
(2:55) 10. Roll Your Head In The Sun
(3:32) 11. Stay In The Clouds

Frequently, debut albums are interesting but simply do not fulfill their artistic potential. This is the case with Zee Avi’s self-titled 2009 debut. While interesting and flush with Avi’s lovely voice the songs ventured at times into a cloying cuteness. The listener was tempted to wish for a more mature, jazzier version of Avi. Luckily, 2011 gives us Ghostbird, an 11-song meditation that only gets better upon replay. One part island breeze and one part classic jazz, Ghostbird sounds like a record you would find in your grandmother’s attic, the work of some jazz age ingénue. But, no, you’re listening to Avi, a twentysomething native of Malaysia in possession of an old-soul voice. It would be easy to dismiss this music as easy listening, one more Jack Johnson-style veg-out disc, but the sheer beauty of her floaty alto voice and shimmering arrangements help it stand out and stand up to repeat listens.Opener “Swell Window” captures attention from the start, with its chime-like lyrical repetition. “31 Days” pops up a few tracks later, a meditation on growing up: “At the ripe age of 17/I moved into that big, bad city,” she croons. Later she learns “I’m half crazy/you’re too sane.” This has been done before, of course, but the earnestness in Avi’s delivery sells it.“Siboh Kitak Nangis” best exemplifies Avi’s smoky jazz skills. All the while, its foreign lyrics hypnotize in the way that Sigur Rós’s Icelandic wanderings do. A few tracks are, yes, cute (particularly “The Book of Morris Johnson”), but “Concrete Wall” pays back your patience in spades, Avi giving one side of a lovers’ quarrel with a darkness that has eluded her before. Its smoldering passive aggression has a mature tone that suits her. Jaw-dropping closer “Stay in the Clouds” features strong, clear strings and a throaty rasp of a jazz-throwback vocal. Singing softer in her higher register, Avi intones, “Can I please stay in the clouds forever/‘cause I really like it here,” an almost cruel irony when the song must, inevitably,end. Fortunately, you can hit repeat, and you will. ~ Megan Ritt https://consequenceofsound.net/2011/09/album-review-zee-avi-ghostbird/

Ghostbird

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