The Drag Queen Posse

Prey – the album’s opening tack, starts with primitive African beats and deep vocals that merge into an 80’s punk sound blended with that same era’s heavy use of synth. The song we were given was not a completed track, but the proper tracks can render it more identifiable, though, as a standalone musical piece, its experimental nature is in the same vein as Björk’s Medulla.

Forever Together – opens with a playful vocal introduction (not unlike Janet Jacksons’ “interludes” between songs) amidst samba-synth, which moves into a love ballad reminiscent of popular 80’s African-American Top 40 stars like Lionel Richie & Stevie Wonder. This is the one track where some vocal polish could use some help, as the runs are either out of the singer’s capabilities, or were performed with too much timidity when initially recorded. This causes the music to become overpowered by the unbalanced vocals, but this has the potential to be a nicely crafted piece if worked on a bit more. For further radio “playability,” the vocal intro might just have to be dropped.

Love-o-matic – is a fun, catchy, pop-tinged throwback to 60’s styled 3 or 4 part harmony girl groups. Only in this instance, JayBezz’s voice is harmonized with his own, with the defining vocal also filtered with some interesting techniques. The song has the feel of something that just might have been recorded by Diana Ross (with or without The Supremes), Michael Jackson and/or Lionel Richie, et al around the 80’s. It’s not difficult to see many other artists hesitating to want to record a song like this.

No Regrets – is a darker, synth-y song that we received as a temp with no vocals – but sounds like a piece David Bowie, Pink Floyd, or E.L.O. might have played with during sessions of their own. A lonely digital guitar riff weeps through this song, which, if accompanied by an equally capable voice and lyrics, could prove to be an underground smash.

Drops the Beat – is another funky 80’s throwback that is a song Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam or Janet Jackson herself might have recorded during that time period. The mid-tempo beat is surely danceable, but in that fun, dirty, body-grinding kind of way. A dance remix with a faster BPM could elevate this to an easy Billboard Top 100 Dance Single.

J–Be-z w/Sucio – this song rips off right at the start with thumping bass and brass – a fun and welcome experimental dance mix that is very successful. Again, the 80’s influence is very prevalent, but does not detract from what is a very modern sound. The 90’s sensibility of including a rap-riff, this one in “Spanglish” (Sucio means “dirty” in Spanish) to a Bomba type beat, has a not-unwelcome place in the song. The unique brass follows up to end the vocals, again, an interesting and bold choice for a dance track.

Back in Your Life – Starts with a house-thumping bass & Bezz’s flanged voice sounding eerily like a Janet Jackson title pulled right off of her own album: All for You. The difference is that Bezz’s smoother vocal delivery is more confident here, like a smoky jazz singer, and not like Ms. Jackson’s breathy, whispering vocals. Towards the middle, it blends into a very catchy piece that would not be out of place on a Craig David album, towards the end, it turns into a confessional vocal with harmonized backgrounds. The problem is that this ends up trying to sound like two or three different tracks, and while it’s nice to want to thank all your peeps in a song, it’s perhaps best left for the liner notes.

EVOLOVE – is an overall eclectic dance/pop/synth concept album that has its beats and vocal delivery style pulled from the fun, MTV-powered 80’s decade. Not yet having had the opportunity to hear the rest of the album, we can only reserve final judgment, as it’s difficult to say what might change and what may or may not end up on the album. However, if these songs become the underground hits we predict they can become, then the remixes will blast it into the stratosphere; perhaps not unlike the “under-the-radar” Whitney Houston album My Love is Your Love. We should anticipate an equally interesting sophomore effort that further showcases “JayBezz’s” EVOLOVE-UTION.