Customer Reviews

Little Light

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After an undeserved absence Amazon finally has this gem available, and now an unfortunate oversight has been corrected. I wish I'd known, I would have raved about Little Light a long time ago. The beauty of Groovelily deserves much more attention than their odd name is likely to earn them; with a basic keys/drums/violin lineup (augmented on this album by some tasty bass & guitar work), they spin wondrously eloquent lyrics and sweet ear-candy melodies into the finest kind of intelligent pop. It's instantly addictive, sure, but the sheer strength of the writing keeps everything from wearing out its welcome after only a little while like so much disposable pop. This is ear candy but not fluff: it still gets me high for days at a time, and after two and a half years it sounds as fresh as it did on the first spin. Behind the writing their musical skill is also pretty impressive, which is only icing on the cake.. that and Valerie Vigoda's honey-sweet voice, of course.

Lyrically they show a wonderful knack for the simple yet profound; these are songs that cover well-trodden personal territory without dipping into cliches, while remaining bouncy and singable from start to finish. The cynical ("Prayer for the Unrequited," "Little Nemesis") fits right alongside the positive ("Weight of the World," "Little Light") without anything sounding out of place. The overall tone is irresistibly mood-lifting, whether it's full of sunshine or mildly encouraging amidst the bleakness. Even the sad "Love Song Without Metaphor" (and isn't that a refreshing thing in itself?) doesn't brood on the somber side, but sugarcoats the lyrics with one of the most bouncy upbeat tunes to be found on this disc. Their cover of "I Want to Know What Love Is" - a song I always hated - is made listenable and even enjoyable with a newfangled touch of reggae. Who ever expected that?

This is an album that's always been good for enhancing a sunny mood and for cheering me up when I need it most. The songs range from driving force to atmospheric beauty, heartfelt joy to sadness, and yet the overall positivity can't help but catch on. If it seems like I'm gushing a little, well.. that's the reaction everyone seems to have to this band. Take a listen and see if you don't end up bouncing a little with excitement yourself.

I was first turned on to Groovelily when I saw their production of "Striking Twelve" in December of 2004. It was then that I purchased this album, and I was instantly hooked. Groovelily is one of the few bands out there right now that still produces lyrically and melodically intelligent music. They write with passion and genuine heart, and create beautiful music through their unique take on Folk Rock style. On this album, my favorite tracks are "I Don't Wanna Fall in Love", "Little nemesis", "Love Song Without Metaphor" and "Coming Home". For a girl growing up with the likes of Carol King, James Taylor, Free Design and Joni Mitchel, the music stylings are refreshing in our present world of Hip Hop and Bubblegum Pop. But the real Shining jewel of this band, and this album in particular is Valerie Vigoda's use of electric violin, which is different, haunting and thouroghly enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this band to anyone looking for something new, fresh and simply good, and this is a great album to start your groovelily library, which will definitely grow ater one little taste of this groovy music.

The Little Match Girl was always a favorite of mine. GROOVELILY has managed to bring it to life again in a whole new way. Their creativity and motivation are "STRIKING" ! You can't listen to only one track of this albujm. You have to enjoy the whole story. This is one you will want to share with family and friends as GROOVELILY puts a new spin on the Little Match Girl and brings her into the 21st century. This album is like a good book you can't put down.

I heard parts of this CD live four years ago, and have become an avid fan as a result. The music rocks, mainly filled with unusually high-quality electric violin and incredible lyrics. The drummer is a natural jazz musician but does amazingly well playing rock and roll. Songs on this album are extremely well-written, intensely personal in certain respects, and yet can be so easily understood. I highly recommend this CD.

If you are interested in this because there is a violin in the band and you think this will make for an interesting mix of instrumentation, don't buy this album. Any traces of the violin are lost in the mix of screechy electric guitars, so it sounds like any old guitar, bass, keyboard/synth combo. This CD just didn't do a thing for me. I thought it was over-produced and boring. One more for the garage sale bin.