Sonya Kitchell
Words Came Back to Me
(Velour/Hear Music)
First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2006, Volume 13, #3
Written by John Metzger
By the end of 2006, Sonya Kitchell very well may be a household name. After
all, America has an unstoppable obsession with elevating young talent, and
therefore, it isn’t surprising that her tender age of 16 is being leveraged
quite heavily in marketing her debut Words Came Back to Me. Most
adolescent artists, of course, are thrust onto center stage regardless of merit,
and after making a major splash, the tendency is for them to wander aimlessly
(and embarrassingly) for a few years before fading from view. Kitchell, on the
other hand, appears to be primed for a long-term residence in the limelight, and
while the term wunderkind is bandied about far too frequently, in her case it
isn’t all that far off the mark. Make no mistake: her stylistic approach — which
essentially is an intimate fusion of folk, blues, jazz, and pop — isn’t terribly
unique. Although she often has been compared to Norah Jones — an analogy that
likely will grow stronger, considering that Starbucks has opted to distribute
Words Came Back to Me via its highly successful Hear Music campaign — the
resemblance is marginally superficial, at best. Throughout the endeavor,
Kitchell’s influences bubble just beneath the surface of her material, and hints
of Simon & Garfunkel (Train), Van Morrison (Let Me Go), Joni
Mitchell (Think of You), and Natalie Merchant (Jerry) intriguingly
collide with her swarthy alto, which, much like Joss Stone’s, is reminiscent of
the legends of old-school soul. It’s the maturity of her compositions combined
with the emotional resonance of her delivery, however, that set her apart from
her peers, and as long as she doesn’t permit early success to stifle her growth,
Kitchell certainly has the wherewithal to be making music for many years to
come. 
Words Came Back to Me is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box