Gentle vocals romance
pop audienceThinking Of You: Jalen (Quiet Storm)
Quiet Storm principal John Iervolino knows what sells in the local pop market. Prepubescent girls uncomfortable with raw masculinity will find Jalen a sensitive, appealing dream date. His gentle soprano makes it difficult at first to ascertain his gender, but there's no doubt the guy can sing.
Jalen's "slow jams" are soft and romantic even when the subject is rejection. All but one is an original co-written with producer Carlos Villalobos. The exception, "Heartaches & Heartbreaks," is a tribute to Jalen's childhood inspiration, the multi-talented Maestro of New Generation.
More than one young local pop act has crashed and burned with a debut album that sacrificed production values for a low-budget local pop sound. Iervolino cut no corners. The songs have the depth and polish of national pop chart hits, and Jalen should already be getting high rotation play on Hawaii's pop music radio stations. The album could easily earn him a national deal.
Buckaloose: Da Braddahs (Hobo House on the Hill)
The Kanaka Komedy of Booga Booga and Rap Reiplinger as a solo artist are picked over once again by young local comics in search of ideas. Tony Silva and JPR have a good ear for details in constructing the background tracks but the characters and situations are almost all basic Booga/Rap bits that have been used and abused by almost all local comics for the past 20 years.
The Chinese, Filipino, "haole," and other characters here are staple types. Greg Hammer jumped on the "gay male kumu hula" bit several years ago, and Augie Tulba has been doing stereotypical Samoans for at least that long.
Silva and JPR acknowledge their debt to "Raps" (Reiplinger) in the liner notes and admit later "We're not professionals." Give them points for honesty!
Silva and JPR have talent rewriting lyrics. Several segments claim songs by other artists as originals "written and performed" by Da Braddahs. "Talani Boy" is a gay love song version of Na Leo Pilimehana's "Local Boys." "Hawaiian Lullaby," "We Are Only Human," and The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize" are appropriated. A song that may actually be an original, "Tribute to Braddah Iz," is the most impressive on the album.
The most imaginative comic bit is a 19-minute football game between the Mighty Ukus of Ukulele High and the Terrible Ticks of Uliuli. Every player's name is worth at least a one-liner and Da Braddahs pull off the familiar concept in style. Da Braddahs are rough and a little crude, but this album leaves no doubt that they'll be back.
See Record Reviews for some of John Berger's past reviews.
See Aloha Worldwide for locals living away.
John Berger, who has covered the local
entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings
produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Home Zone
section on Fridays for the latest reviews.
