Paris Wells - Keep It (2008)

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By Lisa Dib

I first encountered Paris Wells in the Espy lounge a couple of years back. Well, I say encountered; she was fronting the now defunct jazz-pop band Cherry at the Espy’s Collage night (Tuesday and Wednesday nights are devoted to unearthing local, not hugely known talent).

The other bands had been sufficient enough to keep my interest, but it was Cherry’s lounge grooves, swirling musical haze and, of course, frontwoman Paris Wells’ gorgeous vocals that pinned me to my seat. I was in purely platonic musical love.

I followed Cherry’s movements until their eventual disbandment early 2007. Though I was crushed, I kept hope that their musical talents would pop up somewhere again. So, flash forward in time to July 2008, to an excited reviewer’s desk where Paris Wells’ debut solo record, "Keep It", waits to be heard. Quick smart.

The record opens with the chaotic, frenetic Shake, a far cry from Cherry’s lounge roots. But, a change is as good as a holiday and, as far as holidays go, Paris Wells solo material is already seeming like summer in the Bahamas. Shake leads into the jazzy-r’n’b Lonely, which properly introduces you to Paris’ amazing vocals; deep, sultry and malleable to emotion.

Dat Du Dat, the next track and first single from the record, is, funnily, my least favourite track. It’s interesting; blending rock guitar, hip-hop beats and oddments of sounds all over the shop certainly keeps the attention peaked. But it doesn’t speak to me. Which doesn’t matter too much because the following track, She Won’t Say Much certainly does.

She Won’t Say Much is urban-blues at its finest; the suggestive beat of the song and hand-clap beat make you wiggle in your chair (or at least get a bit of shoulder-action in). Paris has the sultriness and dynamism of a superb blend of old-time jazz singers like Eartha Kitt blended with current hip-hop laydeez (I can’t pull off modern slang, can I?) like M.I.A and CC Martini.

Mercy Train and Firetruck Man are delicious 60’s funk-disco, like Car Wash, or Sly & the Family Stone. Fuck Your Soul embraces dirty horns and gritty urban jazz. Closer Tender, originally a Cherry track, has been reinvigorated for Paris’s solo efforts from Cherry’s soft, discreetly sensual but innocuous lounge to Paris & Co.’s darker, modernized take.

Apart from a few dips into Ballad Town that don’t strike me as hard as the rest of the album, this is definitely an astounding first effort from a local talent sure to become huge.

Just you watch. 

RATING: 4 out of 5

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