Contrast

Once in a great while, I ponder how much stock I should take in an artist’s choice in album titles in providing insight into what the musical material will dictate? In other words, titles might just be nothing more and nothing less than window dressing in compiling the entire musical package. Yet, after fully absorbing Joonie’s sophomore effort, Contrast, the title lives up to the billing by conceiving an interesting perspective based off the subject of his debut, Acoustic Love: love.

While Acoustic Love celebrated love’s pure joys and triumphs, Joonie takes it a step further on Contrast by declaring there is still present an everlasting hope during the contrasting downturns of a relationship’s questionable times:  periods of trusting one’s partner, remaining faithful and staying fully committed to love on a daily basis during the tough times. In also showcasing the self-taught singer/songwriter/producer’s diverse musicality, Contrast further distinguishes itself from his debut. Still, from time to time, Contrast contains a fair share of Joonie’s neo-soul kissed vocals and lyrical themes of love’s overall benefits, the calling cards of Acoustic Love.

Two rhythmic R&B radio-friendly tracks from Contrast that shower praises and adoration on his beloved, “Amazing” and “Sunshine,” are tailor made for Joonie’s radiant tenor and his gentle guitar strokes. The sophisticated soul trimmings of funky punctuations and woodwind hooks surround the equally positive “For You”: “It’s more than your sexy walk/The way you smile girl/You just complete me.” There is even a small reprieve from contemplating love’s complexities as Joonie releases his inner party side on “She Got That Fire.”

Contrast is most captivating when Joonie stretches his artistic abilities and starts breaking down the battles of yearning love and conflicting emotions. One example of this comes courtesy of the sequel to “Delilah” from Acoustic Love entitled, “Wish Her the Best (Delilah, Part 2),” which sketches a raw pop ambience while illustrating the ever too painful end to a promising romance. The intense “Far Away” is a valid study in contrast, dipping into a snappy samba about a relationship steering off course: “Times are hard between us/We rollin’, rollin’, yeah/Maybe we need a break.” The same applies to the animated, African flavored, “Life’s Better,” that teams Joonie with his former tour mate, Elliott Yamin: “Yeah, life has taken its toll on our love/But I know it gets better.”  .

Contrast starts losing some luster only when Joonie tackles those over-machismo, auto-tuned ballads, especially “Timeless Love,” which locks into a very stale groove and a lame melody. However, Joonie returns triumphantly to his neo-soul sacred ground with the highly sensitive “No Tears,” about fighting frustrations in trying to mend a distant relationship: “Nothing’s normal baby/It’s a cold winter in June/But when I try to make it right/You just walk away.” In the long run, Contrast not only lives up to its title, Joonie is also willing to flip the script in keeping his material fresh and fascinating in the name of love. Recommended.

By Peggy Oliver

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