Zerafina Zara – Waiting for the Rain

Zerafina Zara – Waiting for the Rain
by Chris Spencer

I found this cd a difficult one to review.
Zara has a fine voice, the players are first class, the recording is great, but disappointingly the album is bland. The songs are fair, none memorable; there are no melodies that linger in my brain and hardly a song is distinguishable among the others.
The album is mired in rock and pop rather than folk.
OK, that paragraph is the negative, so let me put the positive case.
Taken from her website, I quote: “Classically trained, Zerafina [possesses a] three and a half octave voice that ranges from velvety rich and husky to pure and angelic, performing everything from indie-pop to jazz and soul”.
She teaches rock, jazz and gospel to singing students.
“A strong influence on her lyric writing comes from her BA in Literature, Spanish and Philosophy.
Further studies in contemporary dance and performances in Fringe theatre allowed her to explore the realms of her own demons.
[She has been compared to acoustic starlets Lucinda Williams and Missy Higgins, [because of her] sultry vocals, poetic lyrics and subtle emotive elements”
Did that 2nd paragraph balance out my first of unsympathetic comments?
Let’s have a look at some of the songs: The opening track “Burning” is a medium paced ballad; “Golden One” has a relaxed languid intro and later features some electric guitar.
“Blood Pumping” is almost upbeat; “Why?” is a slower piano tickling track that is good change of direction and pace; with its lilting rhythm.
“New Year’s Day” features the drums being brushed.
Track 7, the title track is among the album’s strongest, while “Summer Love Song” features the full bodied electric guitar work of Nigel B Swifte.
Other guest musicians include Peter Luscombe on drums and production, Jonathon Zion & Bill McDonald on bass and Tom Gannon also on drums.
All well regarded on the Melbourne music scene.
Perhaps I’m being too critical, trying to find ways to justify an obviously talented musician releasing an album that fails to do her talent justice.
Perhaps a couple of covers might have helped? Or is the album missing that spark that separates the great from the mediocre?
Seeing her live might assist my judgement!
There’s nothing here that is terribly bad just nothing that makes it stand above many other similar albums.