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Liberator 4.2
Esthero
Wikked Lil' Grrrls

I still remember being introduced to Esthero’s critically acclaimed '98 debut, Breath From Another. It was one of those rare musical experiences I’ll never forget; Breath provided the sweetest soundtrack to some damn good times. Vocalist Jen-Bea Englishman became a favorite of whoever inhaled her melodically sensuous “lounge ‘wit me” style. Breath’s mix of smooth vocals and infectious beats kept its audience committed to timeless cuts like “Country Livin'," “Heaven Sent," and “Superheroes." Slowly but surely, Esthero captured a stream of better-late-than-never fans, and like moths to a flame, they’ll be innately attracted to the highly anticipated new release, “Wikked Lil’ Grrrls." Of course, a lot has changed in 7 years. Esthero returns “Strong as an earthquake, bright as shining star” on her 17-track return, offering many new perspectives, among them a desire to experiment with various “lounge core," jazz, pop and Brazilian flavors. Opening with her anti-radio rant “Musical Revolution”, from her EP of the same name and taking shots at easy targets, R. Kelly, Ashanti, Britney, etc. I hate the crap that gets played on the radio too, but the revolution doesn’t get televised, it just happens dammit and on “If the Mood,” it doesn’t. Her stereotypical plea for some dude’s sexual attention, simply because the next girl can’t give him what he needs seems odd. While Esthero no longer exists as the seemingly perfect collaboration with St. Paul native/producer/multi-instrumentalist Martin “Doc” McKinney. Not to worry Esthero’s addictive voice makes it all a little less tragic. Besides, Doc produced four tracks, including the infectious “Wikked Lil' Grrrls” featuring Canadian hummingbird Graph Nobel over the big band swing meets Hip Hop track while proclaiming themselves “wikked lil' grrrls, kiss the boys and make them cry." As Esthero changes direction with the excellent mid-tempo, modern R&B of “Gone,” featuring a delicate guitar and soulful interchange with Cee-Lo Green. Sean Lennon assists on the Beattle-esque big-band pop of “Everyday Is A Holiday." “A Beautiful Lie” a personal favorite -- massages your ears with a jazzy confessional while “Thank Heaven 4 U" is a medicinal chant that starts to flow off your tongue inevitably after the first hook. The strangest track may be the brief cameo from Andre 3000 -- the future funk of “Junglebook," either he phoned it in or he’s really on some new shit. Distracting from an otherwise great chill-out/wine bar record are the annoying spoken word intro’s and phone messages as skits. I want to believe Wikked ‘Lil Grrrls is Esthero’s growth only partially materialized. You’ll have to be more patient than with Breath from Another, mainly because you’ll have to get over what’s missing and get open to what’s new. (www.esthero.net)

words: Erika Evans