Alexx Calise - In Avanti - Album Review

In Avanti At A Glance:
FABTASTIC!: Anything Goes, Cry, Good Enough (Dirty South Mix)
Great: Break Me, Get Used To It, Out Of Sight, Saying Goodbye, See You Again,
OK:
Below Average: My Song (Version 2.0)
What Was She Thinking?:

Introduced to me recently, the lovely Alexx Calise has generously sent over a copy of her brand new album "In Avanti" to review on the site. Now, for an introduction, a gorgeous rock chick, her sound is a very gritty combo of, say, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Linkin Park & Evanescence. Finding favour on MTV/VH1, Alexx is an independent (It feels weird using this word not related to Australian politics recently... :P) songstress hailing from LA. If you're interested, definitely head on over to her official site and give it a look in - Read on for my thoughts! You can pick up the album here on her website.

Anything Goes kicks the album off with it's foot-stomping beat, and rocky riff over the top, layered with a fantastic electronic layer of synths and effects. Alexx's vocal is cool, edgy, sassy and fierce, and she really brings the fire on the chorus....A great one that, at times could be a little heavy, but it's a killer track and a great listen - I'm loving it! Break Me is the track that I was introduced to Alexx through, and after a fierce electronic intro, explodes into an anthemic, aggressive listen that's absolutely amazing. A dark, jaded vocal from Alexx makes this one just that little bit better, and the heart-stopping pauses in the guitars during the chorus are a great touch! Cry is the first track that isn't an all-out explosion of rocky aggressiveness, but that's isn't at all to say it's not as great as the others..On the contrary, Alexx shines in the softer sound, really throwing her amazing vocal straight into the spotlight, this is a sparse, stark listen that's absolutely gorgeous..A certain favourite...Great electronic effects at the end make it too :D Get Used To It marks a return to the heavier rock tracks, but this one has a decidedly electronic bent to it, and works really fantastically....Another massive vocal, I do like the chorus on this one, it's not one of my favourites on the album, but it's most certainly up there! The Good Enough (Dirty South Mix) comes along next, and it's a hybrid of the crunching guitars, and an electronic r'n'b hybrid, which makes for a fantastic listen. A perfectly fierce chorus with a MASSIVE middle 8, this may possibly be the most amazing moment on the album, a blistering, fast-paced, piercing listen - Absolutely AMAZING!

My Song (Version 2.0) opens and sounds ever so slightly grating to me, before it hits that middle-8, and then kinda dissolves a little afterwards....Something about this one just isn't sitting perfectly for me..I'm thinking it's just not my thing, but there is plenty of other amazingness to cover on the album! Out Of Sight, musically, could be best described as the dark sister of Beyonce's Halo, with it's deep rolling echoey vocals and sparse synths, before exploding into a MASSIVE My December-esque Kelly Clarkson chorus. Another MASSIVE vocal from Alexx, with a gorgeous tone that's very singer-songwritery....kinda surprised me a bit, but I do love it! Great stuff! Saying Goodbye opens with an unnerving hybrid of distorted beats, crunching guitars, messed vocals, and softer synth tones, and some interesting lyrics....It's a very "alternative" sounding track, if you know what I mean? But it actually really works, rather well in fact. I'll say, it's most certainly not my usual sound, but there is a mysterious darkness about this that I'm kinda enveloped by...A very powerful listen. The album closes on a relatively mainstream poppy note with See You Again. A gorgeous, mid-tempo, pop/rock hybrid track, it flows along rather gorgeously, and shows Alexx's vocal in a brand new sound, and shines her talent in an ever-so-slightly new area, and it does work for her. A gorgeous, more tender note to end the album on.