Ayiesha Woods' "Love Like This": A Review
Posted September 26, 2008
By ChristianManifesto,
by C.E. Moore
I was pleasantly surprised by Ayiesha Wood’s light, breezy music. Having not heard her pervious studio “Introducing Ayiesha Woods,” I must admit that I expected a totally different sound from someone on Gotee Records. But, her album “Love Like This” blew all my expectations out of the water. A feel-good project permeated by themes of love and relationships—both temporal and eternal—this is one for the collection. Vascillating between neo-soul, jazz, and pop, “Love Like This” provides the listener with a unique listening experience to be sure.
Title track “Love Like This” starts things out on a whimsical, breathy note. Woods’ vocal shine through like the morning sun as they bounce over the instruments. Actually, it seems as if Woods and the musicians that back her are quite comfortable with each other, complimenting each other almost flawlessly. “Alive” is one of my favorite track on the album and is basically a song of adoration to God for sending a love that is alive. “Never” definitely strays into Out of Eden territory and in a fun, poppy way speaks about unrelenting love. “Take Me There” slows things down and is much more contemplative than most tracks on the album. The real gem on the album, though, is Woods’ cover of label mate Jennifer Knapp’s “Refine Me.” When Knapp originally did the song it was more of a stripped-down acoustic piece. Woods has added a more symphonic feel to the number and made the song all her own. It is a rich experience.
The flaw that some may have is the upbeat nature of the music. It is definitely music for the Christian radio crowd. She sticks pretty much to the surface of things, skirting such topics as the pain and suffering that invades the lives of Christ’s followers. So, it’s not going to appeal to everyone. Normally, it wouldn’t even appeal to me, but Woods is impressive in how she carries herself and works within her genre of choice.
On the whole, I like “Love Like This.” Woods’ vocal performance is strong and diverse without losing the listener. The production side of things is also particularly brilliant. It is the quality listeners have come to expect from Gotee Records and the trend continues. Again, the sound isn’t for everyone, but it those who appreciate the genre will definitely appreciate the album.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Manifesto. Click here to visit TheChristianManifesto.com today!
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