Review Summary: The owls are not what they seem. What about nightingales?
It is an established fact that mallcore artists are not supposed to be good. Until recently, I perceived it as an undisputable axiom. All of them songs that play while you’re doing your grocery shopping are not supposed to rise above a certain level of mediocrity, and any redeemable features they might have had are dulled by endless unwarranted repetition. Such is the way of life, but, as it turns out, there are exceptions to this ancient rule. Sometimes you just have to go beyond that one song of a particular artist you keep hearing everywhere, without ever intending to, and check out some of their stuff that you
don’t get to hear in the supermarkets.
Today, Khrystyna Soloviy is a well-established pop singer here in Ukraine, known for her uniquely charming voice, distinct songwriting style, and active civic engagement. This is her first LP “Water of Life,” released back in 2015. “Hold Me” (song No.3 on this album) was her first bona fide hit and, by extension, her most overplayed song. It is actually much better than muzak you normally hear in coffee shops and supermarkets. It is a suitable choice for a romantic evening and a romantic dance with your partner, a nice slow number that features a strong melody and a skillful interplay between the guitar, piano, and accordion. I am absolutely positive that some of you guys might genuinely enjoy the song since you haven’t been overexposed to it. The problem for me, however, is that in over ten years since this album has been released, I’ve heard “Hold Me” playing in the background more times than I can count, and when I listened to it intentionally for the first time last year, the song already felt too familiar. Luckily, I was invested enough to hear the rest of the album. And what a great listen it turned out to be!
What exactly is great about it? Well, its content is quite unusual overall. It only contains two original songs penned by Khrystyna herself, of which I actually prefer the second one. “Blue Song” (track No.4) follows the same melodic tradition as “Hold Me,” but hasn’t been overplayed so relentlessly, is significantly more playful and upbeat (
in Ukrainian linguistic tradition blue color does not carry the connotation of sadness), and its lyrics are delightfully sarcastic. But it’s not the original songs that pack the most punch here. You see, aside from the two already mentioned tracks, the album contains a selection of modern renditions of traditional Ukrainian folk songs. And a quite unusual selection, at that. These are not just Ukrainian, but specifically Lemkos songs.
Lemkos are an ethnic group of people who live in the Carpathian Mountains, not just in Ukraine, but in Poland and Slovakia too. The language they speak is quite close to Ukrainian and Slovakian, but, in my opinion, carries enough distinctive features to be considered its own thing, not just a dialect. Now, the fact that most of the songs on this album are specifically Lemkos songs means two important things. First, you don’t have to worry about not understanding the language. Even a native Ukrainian speaker, such as myself, most likely will misunderstand or misinterpret a lot of these lyrics, although someone who was born closer to the West of the country has a better chance of getting all the meanings right. In a couple of occasions even the song titles actually mean not at all what I initially assumed they should mean. Secondly, these are not some cliched and overplayed folk songs. Only the opener “Halya Carries Water” and maybe a couple more songs are widely known throughout Ukraine. The rest of the material on display here should sound fresh to Ukrainian and foreign ears alike.
One more important thing is the persona of the producer behind the album. Now, I would normally hate to attribute a woman’s success to a man behind the scenes, but Khrystyna herself confessed in one of her interviews that at the time of recording she had almost no experience and was not involved in decision-making process, mostly just listening to what her older and more experienced producers said. In a situation like that it’s a miracle that she managed to sneak two of her own songs on the album! Luckily, the guy in charge of production duties was more than up to the task of giving the traditional songs a proper modernized treatment. “Water of Life” was released on the label owned by Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, vocalist for a cult Ukrainian rock band “Okean Elzy” (“Elsa’s Ocean”), was in charge of the arrangements for all the songs and lent his signature scratchy tenor for one of them (“American Land*,” song No.11). It is thanks to Vakarchuk’s careful and meticulous handling that the album gets a delightful bluesy veneer, also leaning towards progressive and classic rock sound. The most important thing here is that we’re not talking about a blunt “let’s turn folk songs into Blues Rock” approach. On the contrary, the album is built on nuances and undertones. “Silent Water” (song No.7) is perhaps the best example, a masterclass in creating a relaxed vibe through combination of tasteful guitar licks, classic rock keyboards, and soft vocalizations in the background, all crowned with restrained but still powerful singing. Every song here gets a personalized treatment: the country-styled “Halya Carries Water” with a seriously rocking guitar solo, the playful piano of “Sitting Bird” (song No.5), the sudden incursions into flamenco of “In the Dark Night” (song No. 8), the gentle and sad symphonic touches of “American Land”… you get the idea. What’s important is that all these upgrades do not interfere with the core essence of these old songs, instead revitalizing and enriching them with impeccable taste and tact.
But make no mistake, Khrystyna Soloviy (her surname means “nightingale” by the way) is the main strength and the biggest selling point of this album! Maybe she still needed to find her footing as a songwriter at the time, but her singing chops were already in full swing. If you want a comparison, I would’ve likened her to Ariana Grande due to similarly charming demeanor, and I won’t hesitate to say that her voice equals Ariana’s in terms of power but is much more versatile and richer in terms of tone and delivery. One more important thing to know is that these songs are not foreign to Khrystyna. She is a Lemko herself, and one of her producers even mentioned that Lemko songs are “a part of her DNA.” They may be a part of Ukrainian cultural heritage, but they are a part of Khrystyna’s personal heritage as well, and she was very passionate about breathing a new life into these songs.
Khrystyna’s main strength, however, is her remarkable ability to feel and understand every song and adapt her voice so that it suits the style and the mood perfectly. Again, this is not about singing in a completely different style for each song on the album, but rather about subtle tweaks and changes. I don’t know if she does it intuitively or if she consciously works to fit her voice seamlessly into every song, but Khrystna always manages to convey just the right emotion. Desperate grief of losing someone dear to you in “Up and Down” (song No.5) gives way to sarcastic scathing of an unfaithful lover in “Sitting Bird.” The deep intimacy of two lovers consumed with each other of “In the Dark Night” is just as convincing as the emotional conflict of “Dirty Water Flows” (song No.9), where the lyrical heroine combines tender yet resolute love she feels towards her beloved Ivanko with her irritation towards her mother who keeps getting in the way of the young lovers.
All this means that emotional impact of most of the songs here is amplified tenfold. The happy and lively songs will bring a smile to your face and some warmth to your soul, while the sad songs will pierce straight through your heart. I am normally hesitant to review Ukrainian music for an international audience, but it feels like in this case the emotions behind the songs together with care and love put into them might be enough to transcend the language barrier. In a couple of years after release of “Water of Life,” Khrystyna Soloviy will show her teeth, refusing the services of keyboardist Milosh Yelich who was overly intrusive with the creative process, insisting on hiring her own musicians for recording sessions of her second album, and focusing on the songs that she wrote herself. But even at this early stage of her career, Khrystyna refused to be eclipsed by more experienced musicians involved, instead utilizing their strengths to shine brighter. She is now a powerhouse of Ukrainian pop music, but her first album holds a special place in my heart as a unique and bold statement of a young and vigorous songstress.
*Yes, there’s a traditional Ukrainian Folk song called “American Land.” It dates back to the end of XIX – beginning of XX century, when there was a mass wave of migration from the West of Ukraine to America, which eventually led to emergence of powerful Ukrainian diasporas in the US and Canada. The song, however, reflects the perspective of those who refused to go abroad and chose to stay home.
