Artist: Tina Angotti
CD: Mirror
Home: Chicago/Phoenix, Style: Singer/Songwriter
Quote: "Purity. Simplicity. Strength. Gentle intensity"
By Les Reynolds, Indie-Music.com
Purity. Simplicity. Strength. Gentle intensity. Lyrics deceptively deep. Tina Angotti's 12-song debut centers around all those ingredients featuring her gorgeous voice.
There is little in the way of any dazzling instrumentation as Tina basically just strums chords. But the energy flowing from them is rich and warm. Her brother Phil lends extra talent on tastefully played acoustic lead guitar, most notably on the classical-Spanish style of "Walk With Me" — instrumentally the best of the list.
Many (if not all) of these tunes are expressions of observations from all facets of life and a straight-on look at the truth as she sees it. From the opener and title track:
"The truth is when I'm looking at you
I'm really looking at me
The truth is when I look in your eyes
It's really me that I see...
There's a dark shadow that we deny
It's what we'd rather hide
Let's hold each other and say it's okay
To play the other side..."
Considering the depth of her writing, there is a decidedly spiritual humanistic thread here that reveals quite a bit of understanding. From "I Surrender,"
"I've walked into a place,
faced with this hard life lesson to bear
Even though I know through this trying time
Great growth will come
...I'm going deep inside, I feel my strength regain
I create my reality
Yes, now I see it again, it was in me all along
When I let go -- it came
And now I sing...
I surrender..."
For pure enthusiasm, there's the up-tempo acoustic-electric “I Feel“ and the all-acoustic “It's Alright" -- both driving folk rockers. The latter will put a smile on your face, in spite of the lyrics that invite you to “go ahead and feel your sadness." Tina's sometimes ferocious strumming puts out an infectious energy that makes it really hard to sit still.
“...Sit around and just do nothing, all by yourself I think that you will find you like yourself It's alright, it's ok..."
Sit around (or dance around) and listen to this CD and it's almost certain you'll find you really like it.