Posted on: September 4, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The eclectic way in which Cheryl Alexander starts out her Resilience Redefined is a great way to involve a larger subset of listeners than would normally be keyed in to her music. With the opening strains of “My Innocence”, one can hear a tremendous array of different influences that range from pop to female singer-songwriters like Janis Joplin to rock and metal and even to bluegrass and country at the periphery. “Fly, My Love” is the second track on Resilience Redefined, and it showcases Alexander as someone comfortable enough in her ability to put her listeners through a much longer track (4:30) than had opened up the album.

Where some acts struggle with trying to fill up that length of time, I feel that the added minute and a half over “My Innocence” allows for Alexander to stretch things out and showcase her instrumental arrangements. The two distinct sides of Alexander shown at the beginning of Resilience Redefined unite to make “Day In, Day Out”, which may just be the best track on this disc.

There is such a compelling stance, both instrumental and vocal, that is put forth here by Alexander that listeners cannot do anything but listen in. Riding high with this hump track, Alexander cuts two tracks in “Not Dead Yet” and “Tear Down This Wall” that will have listeners singing along well after the disc spins to a close. There is a vibrancy and a bounciness present to the tracks here that I believe would even be shown better in a live setting. While I will be eagerly awaiting the next releases by Alexander, I really hope to see her live in the next few years. I bet the experience is sublime.

Top Tracks: My Innocence, Day In, Day Out

Rating: 8.3/10

Cheryl Alexander – Resilience Redefined (CD) / 2011 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.cherylhalexander.com / http://twitter.com/#!/cherylalexander

Leave a Comment