Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lamya: She's ALL That!, November 19, 2002
I don't write reviews often but I made a promise to myself that would promote, defend and testify to the brilliance that is the album "Learning From Falling" by a new sista on the scene Lamya. This Kenyan soul sista has brought beauty and hope into my life. I'm serious. This album is exactly what I have been looking for for a long time in a black female artist. Lamya's voice, style and music is all at once exotic, creative, smart, powerful, gorgeous and sexy! Her sound is uncatogorizable but her music is visionary and wrapped in a passionate and sensual and thoughtful aura. She's a black girl's answer to Kate Bush, Sinead O'connor and Bjork and I'm a huge fan of all three of these incredibly white female vocalists. For those of you who think that's a hard act to follow I believe that if young Lamya sticks to her vision of creating powerful, creative, sensual and thoughtful music she can do anything and even more. If your like me your sick and tired of empty, naive love songs sung by preadolescent Barbie dolls who wouldn't know real passion and creativity if it came up and punched them in their ever showing taut tanned and pierced mid-rifts! So what I love and most appreciate about her album is that homegirl has NO LOVE SONGS! Ok, maybe 2 tracks can be considered love songs but they are deliciously plaintive and smart not filler for feeble minds because homegirl has a lot more on her mind than what He's thinking. She's got a lot to say and I'm happy to listen. The only love song on the album is to her mother "Black Mona Lisa" which has got to be one of the most beautiful ode to African Womanhood I have ver heard. Listening to it you can actually feel Lamya own desperate conversion to self love and affirmation in this ode to her black mother. Every song on this album is a winner! I love Lamya. I can listen to this album over and over and always hear something new and more profound with each chord of the incredible production. Even my boyfriends loves her and our music tastes are very different. Let me first say that whoever doesn't recognized the refreshing brilliance and talent and beauty of Lamya is either . . . or deaf or both! Lamya's music and style is about female empowerment, intelligence and creativity so maybe you guys just don't get it. I have THREE copies of her CD: one for my car, one for stereo and the other for my disc man. I've also bought copies for all my friends because I know they'll love her too! The fact that this incredibly gifted and genuine artist is being slept on by the mainstream has further entrenched my belief that today's popular music has nothing to do with TALENT or ORIGINALITY or BEAUTY and EVERYTHING to do with PACKAGING, LOOKS (even though Lamya is gorgeous!) and UNRELENTING AIRPLAY. Lamya girl, I'm your BIGGEST fan! Thank you for this album! And like the Isley Brother's said, "Don't change, don't change girl...."
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Original Debut Of The Year, August 13, 2002
I can see how those expecting the next Alicia Keys/Erykah Badu/Jill Scott hybrid would be highly disappointed. Lamya's music lies far closer to the Kate Bush/Bjork/Dido axis than the aforementioned artists. And do we really need another "neo-soul
diva" a la Keys, Scott, Angie Stone,etc.? Granted, they all show flashes of true brilliance, but it's nice to know that's not the only tack being followed these days. LEARNING FROM FALLING draws from literally a multitude of influences--the striking opener "Empires" is a gorgeous cross of Bjork soundscapes coupled with Kate Bush-like vocals(and yes, the hype on the song is well-justified--it's that good). If nothing else here lives up to the musical loopiness and originality of that track, the rest of the album manages to argue successfully that this woman is one to watch--also worthwhile are "East Of Anywhere", "Black Mona Lisa", and "Never Enough". Again, if you're looking for the next big thing in neo-soul, look elsewhere. If, however, you're looking for a sterling combination of pop, trip-hop, and world influences that falls way outside the cookie-cutter mentality of today's musical landscape, pick this up and you will not be disappointed.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A World Music / Pop Hybrid With an Original Style, August 22, 2002
I have to say that I picked up this album on four separate occasions before finally convincing myself to actually buy it. I was impressed with all of the advance press praising Lamya for her similarity to Bjork and Kate Bush but I never expected an album so incredibly unique and original. When I first heard Lamya's voice I immediately thought that her style was uncategorizable. "Empires" caught my ear as sweeping and orchestral; it really demands the listener's attention. Then "East of Anywhere" came on with an almost entirely different, soulful, Sade-esque vibe. Her songs are irresistably catchy and you can't help singing along despite their diversity. One might think that since Lamya jumps genres so frequently, the album couldn't possibly be cohesive. This couldn't be farther from the truth-- the songs are always beautifully crafted and original. The middle eastern vibe established in "Empires" pervades the whole record, setting a cool, relaxing tone. Her cover of Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" is heartfelt and lovely; she really makes it her own. Another highlight is "Judas Kiss (Brutus Diss)", a song practically made for singing along in the car. Don't be deterred by Lamya's emerging artist status-- she should be around for a long, promising future.
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