legends

Album Review

This Philly-born dance-pop artist has a fascinatingly traumatic background that might have inspired a lesser spirit to turn to a darker, angry genre or even something resembling a contemporary version of grunge. When she was a young child, Renée Zawawi was abducted from her home and taken overseas. To survive emotionally, she began singing and she was eventually reunited with her family — although her mother had passed away in the intervening years. Following some work as a model and after winning some local beauty pageants, she moved to New York and launched her career in music. Although it's easy to see why a playful, synth-driven autobiographical dance track like "American Girrrl" could catch on and burn up a few dance floors, in the end Zawawi proves a more effective songwriter than vocalist. Her thin, whispery voice gets caught on tracks like the Asian-influenced "The Wind Was Her Only Music" (which chronicles her emotional journey) in a speak-sing mode at times, and she comes off like an innocent little girl (of limited range) trying to convey her intense life from an adult point of view. On a positive note, she has a strong sense of world music sounds and beats, and even with the unconvincing vocal on "Flirt with Me," the song's flamenco-Arabic instrumental swirl is a blast. The production by N.Y.C.'s The Demo Center makes the vibe interesting throughout, from the new age electronica cool of "Mah" to the playful Spanish spirit and symphonic touches of "Never Knew." "Children of the World," written to raise money for kids suffering from war, violence, and disaster, has its heart in the right place. She chronicles and laments disasters while taking a break from the dance and ethereal pop vibe and edging into rock; as on the rest of the CD, Zawawi's voice is the least compelling aspect of the track, but she deserves kudos for singing in seven languages. While she's uneven at best as a singer, it would be easy to imagine this heartfelt artist being successful writing and producing tracks for other dance artists who want to communicate something substantial.