Lael Summer is Definitely Not A “Burden to Bear”

(more…)

Music Review: Burden to Bear by Lael Summer

Rating: 8.0/10.0

I couldn’t believe I’m almost 7 years older than Lael Summer but I’m still going through the same things she’s going through. This album is the perfect soundtrack to my life right now. It’s amazing how young she is yet her lyrics and music are just as mature (and may I say even better) than the other older female artists out there.

Burden To Bear is a soulful and funky album with simple yet ballsy upfront lyrics.

The album opens with I Need A Man - a funky bass line and smooth horn playing - then comes Lael’s powerful voice with feminist undertones. The second track, Too Much, had me thinking Lael has manic-depression despite the sexiness of the song - which I think is the catchiest of all the songs in the album. You’re So Small is something I pretty much love - the angst in a funky/soulful song is a formula I never thought would work but apparently, it does. Make You Whole has some honest lyrics and it seems to be the most poppy of the songs in the album in my opinion. It’s About Soul sounds like Tarrie B (from Tura Satana/Manhole/My Ruin) on Clonazepam who went soul. Love the feminist angst again in poppish classic soul. The next track, In Time, features a mature sultry controlled vocals against a bossa-nova groove with synthy and windy beach ambiance. Kiss And Tell, on the other hand, gives away her youth with the lyrics and the pop/neo-soul feel of the whole song. And of course, Do What You Want, Be What You Are, her cover of the classic Hall & Oates song, is something everyone has to listen to. The last four songs in the album, What Do I Know, Look Around, Unconditionally, and The Good Fight, end the album nicely with mature/pop-catchy notes.