What happens when a New Age/Yoga mystic musician decides it is time to reach a wider audience? Opium by the female vocalist known as WAH! is one way to answer the question. For this album WAH! brought Herb Graham Jr. on board as producer, as the oddly named chanteuse describes on her Web site. He brought in an amazing group of musicians to play on the project - Dave Wilder on bass (Macy Gray), Dave Levitta on guitar (Alanis Morrisette), Zac Rae on keyboards/Wurlitzer/ Rhodes (Alanis Morrisette), Jinsoo Lim on guitar (Macy Gray), Rodney Lee on keyboards, and Rich Mangicaro on percussion.
Unfamiliar with her previous releases I went back and read Big Earl's reviews here on Green Man Review. WAH!'s older albums seemingly featured the singer accompanying herself on harmonium, performing long (up to fifteen minute) chant related material. The longest track on Opium is a mere 5:36, four are under four minutes. This is certainly a well produced effort with professional rock players providing a solid bed for her breathy, intimate vocals.
Listening to Opium I found myself asking, "Where does this music belong?" and "Who is the audience being addressed?" I m not sure I have clear answers. Perhaps emanating from the Chill Room sound system at a Rave. Or maybe female college students of a particular type will listen through headphones late at night. I can also imagine club DJ's making this a sampling favorite. There are some great beats to work with courtesy of the excellent rhythm section while WAH!'s vocal style and repetitive lyrics nearly beg to become fodder for creative remixing.
On "Midstream" WAH!'s vocal has a sound reminiscent of Aimee Mann, although her lyrics lack Mann's depth and complexity. "Lose Everything" offers another, perhaps closer, reference... the atmospheric side of Sade.
At the end of the day, Opium is pleasant enough, as far as it goes, and WAH! continues to evolve, but I couldn't help but feel that there is still something missing.
