Posted on: July 1, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

“Misunderstood” showcases a strong female presence on the vocals, allowing for a blending of country, alternative, and pop music. This means that “Misunderstood” is a track that all can appreciate, and it is done with a skill that will ensure that listeners stick with the disc throughout all ten tracks. Valerie Nicole can literally go anywhere with “Naïve”, “From The Heart”’s second track, and settles into a unique sound that touches just as much on seventies country as it does on sixties pop.

“Livin’ In The Moment” allows the instrumentation to take a prominent role in the overall feel generated by the track, but this instrumentation does not drown out or otherwise hinder Valerie Nicole’s heavenly vocals. Rather, the arrangements on “Livin’ In The Moment” allow Valerie to take that next step forward, making an already solid track into something that is truly memorable. The title track for “From The Heart” starts out slow but gradually picks up steam. At all points during this track, Valerie Nicole provides a smooth and calm demeanor, allowing the widest swath of listeners to pick up on her own special form of music. “Wake Up” is another fun track, calling forth the alternative rock that opened up the last decade.

In this track, Valerie Nicole’s vocals actually take on an additional duty; instead of only forwarding the lyrical content of the song, Nicole’s vocals add substantially to the harmony crafted by the rest of the band. Each track on “From The Heart” provides a little bit more in the way of information about Valerie Nicole, and by the end of “From The Heart”, listeners will find that they honestly care about her music in a way that few current artists can elicit. Go and pick up “From The Heart” and see her and her backing back whenever they may play live. They are located in the eastern side of Pennsylvania, but I can’t imagine that they will remain rooted for too much longer, especially when more listeners get wind of what is truly a beautiful album.

Top Tracks: Misunderstood, Livin’ In The Moment

Rating: 8.2/10

Valerie Nicole – From The Heart / 2009 Self / 10 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/valerienicole7

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