Daria Dzurik and The Hip Drops bring you their first full length CD, “Calliope”. This is an interesting piece of work. I was struggling to find a genre to compare it to? It is a cross between calypso, ska, funk and well, maybe a few other things.
Daria’s vocals are refreshingly different from anyone else I’ve ever heard. She has a peculiar way of phrasing her words to fit the rhythm. It is kind of hard to sing a long with, even though you almost can not help yourself. The tunes are catchy. Not catchy in a hooky sort of way, but in a toe tapping contagious vibe. Lyrically it is a ramble of what seems to be on her mind at the moment. Musically it is a force of nature causing you to get up and prance around uncontrollably.
The closest thing to a ballad is the song, “Slowly Sinking”. It is a cute little ditty about meeting someone and kind of digging them. But then I think she changes her mind, maybe? Even after reading the lyrics I’m still not a 100% sure? My favorite song was, “Remind Me Much of You”. Being a songwriter myself, that leans more toward story telling; I particularly liked it. Mainly because it told a story and I got it. I also really enjoyed, “Running in the Night”, it was vivacious and groovy.
Ultimately the entire CD is full of hip swinging tunes. No downers in this one. I can’t imagine anyone being in a bad mood after listening to this music. If you need a pick me up, then grab Daria Dzurick’s, “Calliope” and put on your dancing shoes.
Rebecca Hosking – hoskingrebecca@gmail.com
[Rating: 3/5]
