Review Summary: A solid debut album.
Faouzia is a Moroccan-Canadian singer/songwriter. I don’t pretend to know anything about Moroccan music (or the culture surrounding it), but I do know good music, and RIP, Love is just what the doctor ordered. It has “edgy girl” lyrics that pass as profoundly inspiring these days, but I didn’t mind it. Neither did I mind the song, though it sounded like the generic slew of pop you might hear at a Mexican resort. I’d be lying if I said the song wasn’t catchy. There’s a ton of vocal hooks, and the singer has a commanding, professional authority on the mic.
Like the first track, the entire album has catchy vocal hooks up the wazoo (SoLie’s chorus practically sounds like yodeling). That, and the fiery vocal performance, are the least generic bits of the album, but make no mistake, you’ve heard these kind of songs played to death on the radio. Half the songs play it safe, with a piano driven portion, or a quiet beat and ambience with nothing interesting happening instrumentally. Worse are the excessively auto-tuned parts that sound awkward. Thick and Thin and Puppet are solid songs, but the auto-tune gives the singer a robotic sound that distracts from her otherwise great performance.
Altogether, CITIZENS is great debut album. It’s a little too short, but it’s filled with engaging tracks. Unfortunately, there’s not enough focus on what makes her unique to truly stand out from the crowd. For now, this is another faceless pop artist from the industry, but there’s a lot of potential here. The songs are catchy and pretty with an amazing singer, and for a debut album, it’s pretty dang good.
