![]() ![]() * To hear a free Sound Bite from Goapele, call Post-Haste at 20 and press 8107 to hear Deborah Bond, press 8108. Unlike many of her peers, Bond, who possesses an appealing, somewhat smoky voice, resists ornate embellishments in favor of old-fashioned storytelling and moodmaking set to an R&B or funk beat.Īppearing Tuesday at the Birchmere. When she isn't conjuring steamy scenarios on "Romantic" and other tracks in ways that occasionally bring to mind the likes of Sade, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, Goapele projects a lot more intelligence than attitude, particularly on the gospel-tinged "Salvation," the inner-city vignette "It Takes More" and the post-9/11 reflection "Red White & Blues." The moods keep shifting, in part thanks to a rotating cast of musicians that includes Soulive and Hieroglyphics, but Goapele's talent, personality and smarts manage to shine through nearly every performance.Ĭonnecticut-born, Washington-bred singer Deborah (pronounced "de-BOR-ah") Bond's "Day After" is mostly in keeping with classic soul sounds, a well-sung, entertaining mix of yearning love songs ("See You in My Dreams"), inspirational ballads ("A Message") and blue-but-not-bowed musings ("Givin' Up"). Goapele (pronounced "quah-pay-lay") had a hand in writing all the songs on the album - a reconfigured, expanded and expurgated version of an earlier, independently released collection. More than just another exotically pretty face and sultry voice, she comes across as a force to be reckoned with on "Even Closer." A lot has been made of Bay Area soul chanteuse Goapele Mohlabane's bloodlines, influences and repertoire: offspring of a New York-bred Jewish mother and an exiled South African social activist inspired early on by the music of Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Sweet Honey in the Rock now drawn to romantic neo-soul grooves and thoughtful, sometimes pointed lyrics. ![]()
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