CD REVIEW
"Tango," SONiA and disappear fear
Let's face it: Most Americans are lazy about languages. We figure that if foreign folks can't speak English, then they should learn it pretty darn quick if they want us to pay attention.
On her new CD, "Tango," Baltimore folk-rocker SONiA takes the opposite tack, daring to offer original songs in four languages -- English, Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish -- and inviting the whole world to dance. In the hands of another musician, such an effort could seem like a gimmick -- but from the socially conscious SONiA, who has such an obvious passion about promoting global harmony, the result is nothing short of magic.
"Tango," released late last month, is the first studio album for SONiA (born Sonia Rutstein) since disappear fear was revived in 2005. Touring partner Laura Cerulli is featured on percussion and harmony vocals, and producer John Grant does double duty on electric guitar and other instruments. Former disappear fear members Christopher Sellman (bass) and Brian Simm (piano and accordion) rejoin here to add depth to the 13-track CD's intricate and multi-layered production. Djembes, tin whistles, violins and acoustic guitars give an indigenous sound quite unlike anything SONiA has tried on her previous 12 albums. But hints of techno and rock hover around the edges as subtle nods to more modern times.
The project's origins as a Spanish-only release (at one point titled "La Tormenta Santa," which means "The Holy Storm") can be heard in the translations of four previously written SONiA songs: "Telepatia Sexual" ("Sexual Telepathy"), "Cayendo" ("Fallin'"), "Se Tu Aquella" ("Be The One") and "Porque Estamos Aqui" ("Because We're Here"). All of them benefit from the infusion of Spanish-style guitar picking and Latin rhythms; in particular, high-energy album opener, "Telepatia Sexual," rides SONiA's soaring vocals, Cerulli's steel drums and Grant's electric guitar into the stratosphere.
A 2006 trip to Israel during its conflict with Lebanon and the Palestinians brought a sharper political focus and a message of unity to “Tango.” Impressions from that journey inspired the key song “Mica Moca” (“Who is Greater”): Flying into a war zone to perform, SONiA finds kindness from a young girl even as the bombs are falling, perhaps suggesting that a new generation can connect and help solve centuries of bloodshed. The English/Hebrew song invokes a Jewish prayer from the book of Exodus and suggests to Muslims, “I think your god likes me / and my god likes you, too” – a reminder of common origins in the Middle East.
Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton, a former opera singer and cantor who leads SONiA's Baltimore congregation, shares the lead vocals in the Hebrew track "Shorashim" ("Roots"). As Incan-style flute mixes with Eastern European violin, the two women's voices blend beautifully when nature meets nationalism: "The seagulls rest on the buildings / at the borders / They fly without a passport / they don't speak English / or French or Hebrew or Arabic."
(For those not fluent in all four languages, translations of the lyrics are provided in an attractive CD.)
The name of the CD comes both from the world-fusion Arabic track "Tango (Li Annaka)" and because "tango" is the only word on the album that is the same in all the languages -- again, harkening back to the theme of commonality. But the real unifier here is SONiA's sweet and true voice, which is so captivating throughout that even when she's singing in a language you don't understand, you still hang on every word.