Sonya Kitchell - This Storm

Product Information, Audio Previews, Reviews and More On:
Sonya Kitchell - This Storm

“In 2006, singer/songwriter Sonya Kitchell’s “Words Came Back to Me” was among the first featured in Starbucks’ Hear Music program, bringing the light jazz stylings of the then-16-year-old into the coffee chain across the country. For its follow-up, Kitchell teamed with producer Malcolm Burn (Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris) to give her style a little edge. The album unfolds with more textures and sounds, kicking off with the pulsing, guitar-riddled opener “For Every Drop,” followed by the Hammond organ-backed “Borderline.” “Here to There” recalls a bluesier take on Feist’s “Mushaboom,” and Kitchell sounds most at home on acoustic tracks like “Soldier’s Lament” and the pretty, string-backed “Robin in the Snow.” At 18, her songwriting and honeyed voice is a far cry from any of her teeny-bopper peers, but for the coffee-drinking set, “This Storm” is more standard fare. —Jill Menze”