"The interludes in-between the songs are meant to lighten the tone and include nightlife personalities in the NY [city] area, so it kind of gives the listener the feeling of hanging out for a night in the city,” Lovari told me. His voice varies kind of between a mellow, singing melodic rasp and the shout/pout protestations over a music bed of the drag club stage. It even evokes the late Sylvester for a moment on “Move Your Body” even.
The Statement is his sophomore album, and as he told me, it “is divided into two chapters – the first half of the album being house music, and the second diving into r&b/pop/hiphop.” Well that is one description, but it sounds more mixed-up than that to me.
If you've ever had a hard time getting over a lost love, then "Take My Pain Away" will speak to you personally. With themes of healing, remembering the best times and obscuring the negative stuff, it goes to a place where most dance songs don't go.
Choosing a Favorite Statement
My favorite track is “All I Want is You” which includes a lush, lavishly pretty piano solo. This flowing dance number was inspired by Toni Braxton. On the other end of the spectrum, I could do without “Now Tell Me.” Where did he get that fingernail-scratching-the-blackboard voice from?
“Emotion in one’s voice is important to me”, he said, so at times while I may not hit all of the notes, it was essential for me to make sure that my feeling with the pronunciation of certain words were understood.” Pronunciation may be music to an English tutor’s ears, but in that vocal tone, I don't think many will want to listen.
The last of the bonus tracks, “Love Come Down” is a classic sounding house track. The title is confusing as the main vocal phrases “Truth”, “Set Me free” or Rescue Me” are all used as hook on top of the lovely piano work.
Summary
Lovari’s goal for you after listening to this album is, “to walk away with a sense of empowerment for themselves.” He speaks of Sophocles who, as a dramatist in ancient Greece, is credited with introducing a third actor and expanding the chorus from 12 to 15 players while replacing the trilogy form with self-contained tragic plays in his opening monologue.
So with all those threesomes running around, and a few unexamined notes, it is only befitting that I make a dictum to my fellow Queens, N.Y. native with three stars. I’m sure he will understand, as the nuns at Our Lady Of Lourdes might not have been so tolerant of the faux pas included in-between the good music on this album.
Released January 2010 on Premier Entertainment Group.
