Symone - Resilient

Symone

Resilient
self-released; 2016

3.5 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Symone is an artist from Minnesota that just released her complete DIY effort entitled Resilient. The songs fit into a pop category and she has the voice for it which is really the strength of the album. 

She clearly displays this on her first song “All I Want” where her voice carries the song. The guitars are clean with reverb and delay while a programmed beat work in the background. It’s a catchy pop song; there is no doubt about that.

Some of her best songs are the most minimal such as “The Meaning.” Her voice shines even against one root note. Songs like “Show Me” while well written were almost held back because of the programmed sounding drums. As the album progresses there were a number of solid songs including the highlight “Free.” The last two songs also fare well. 

​Lyrically, Symone also falls into a pop category. Her words are pretty straight forward and she doesn't utilize a lot of poetic ambiguity to keep you wondering what she is really talking about. And like a lot of pop songs she often sings about the relationships whether it's separating like on "Strawberry" or questioning going back into a relationship on "Laugh"

Symone is case of singer/songwriter that I think would benefit from an experienced producer. I don’t say this because I don't think she is talented but quite the opposite.

She has some talent in the music department but not so much in the production department. I could have done without the garageband style drums.

Overall Resilient has a number of catchy pop songs. I think that by surrounding herself with the right people she can get to the next level.

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