INIMITABLE ARTIST BUMPS IT UP A NOTCH, ADDS ONE MORE VOLUME TO CREATIVE CATALOG
Posted September 24, 2008
By ChristianMusicPlanet,
Since Nicole C. Mullen’s self-titled disc began its epic climb to the top of the best-sellers chart in the summer of 2000, she has remained one of Contemporary Christian musi c’s greatest treasures. With a creative gene that has only multiplied over the years, Mullen continues to chronicle her unique mixture of rock, funk, R&B and any other influence she can manage to squeeze into a four-minute pop song.
Last year, however, Mullen released Sharecropper’s Seed, Volume 1, an India.Arie-esque concept album that showcased a calmer, stripped-down version of the enterprising singer/songwriter. But this year’s A Dream to Believe In, the second installment in her themed trilogy, returns Mullen to imaginative record-making, issuing the same genre-defying hooks and non-stop grooves that permeated her first three studio records.
Rotating between bass-busting tracks and spine-tingling ballads, the powerhouse vocalist once again pulls out all the stops. The most assertive Nicole C. track to date, “Look Like Me,” opens the record with a bang, proclaiming the gospel of unity by urging listeners to “Take a moment, close your eyes and dream of harmony/If you could look inside my heart would you look like me?”
“Like A Lady” adds to the parade of styles with nylon-string guitars, rhythmic claves and ripping horns licking over a Latin bossa beat, while the singer’s killer vocals spell out the basics of how a man should treat a woman.
“Blessed and Broken” tributes the hair-raising anthems with large crescendos and big voices the two-time “Female Vocalist of the Year” Dove winner is widely recognized for. But it is the quieter, more introspective Mullen that truly benefits her lovely vocal dexterity as revealed in “Start Over Again,” a spouse’s compelling supplication to attempt repair by getting reacquainted.
My advice: Buy A Dream to Believe In. If you don’t own Sharecropper’s Seed, buy it, too. And when Volume 3 is released, I’ll race you to the store. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today! View All Music And Book Reviews By ChristianMusicPlanet | View ChristianMusicPlanet's Profile
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