 Random Chants, an all-female semi-pro group from Boston, has unfortunately come up a bit short in many areas on their CD debut, “Chants Encounter.” Listening through was a rocky ride. However, I did spend a fair amount of time with this disc and I’m glad I did. Subsequent listens allowed me to get into this group’s energy, and to hear a lot more good things going on; things that give me hope for the growth of this group. Unfortunately, the fact remains that I had to listen hard for them, which means that this time out Random Chants has fallen a bit short of the mark.
The biggest problem with this disc is really the quality of the recording. It’s pretty poor and doesn’t do anything to emphasize the group’s strengths or help the places where they come up short. Soloists are mixed at a fair level, but backgrounds are pretty muddy, and percussion (when it happens) isn’t handled well. This group is from Boston and I know there are tons of excellent producers in the area that have experience recording solid a cappella albums. I hope that next time Random Chants seeks one of these people out, it will go a long way towards a stronger sophomore effort.
Beyond the quality of the recording, the basics here still need some work. On the positive side, most of the Chants are good soloists, but that seems work against them as an ensemble. Tuning is mostly decent, but the group needs to spend some more time working on their vowel matching to develop a more cohesive ensemble sound.
There are a lot of things that need work, but like I said at the top there’s also some very important good stuff. The last track, a rock/R&B take on the Beatles’ "Yesterday", is very cool and impressive. The arrangement is innovative, upbeat, and I’d love to see this group do more music like it. Also, the energy throughout is good. This group clearly loves what they’re doing and that comes through in their sound. Getting into that energy was my favorite part of listening to this CD.
Random Chants, keep working and doing what you’re doing, but here’s my advice for next time. First, listen to some of the cutting edge female collegiate a cappella that’s been coming out over the last few years for ideas on production. I think that a cleaner studio sound will allow the things that you guys are doing well to come more to the forefront. Definitely check out the University of Oregon Divisi or Clemson University Takenote’s latest releases. Second, keeping working on your ensemble sound, and please do more cool, creative arrangements like "Yesterday". I hear a lot of potential in your sound, and I think with a little more polish your next CD could be something really special.
To order: www.randomchants.com
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