Sunland bright
in its latest release
Eruption: Sunland (Lavaland)
IN the eight months since Sunland surfaced with its debut single, "We Are Only Human," the cosmopolitan sextet has signed with a national label and received high-rotation airplay here on three consecutive singles. This landmark 72-minute album proves that Sunland's accomplishments were no fluke.
Some local pop acts seem obsessed with chasing last week's hot sound or cloning some national act's hit. How refreshing it is that all these songs are originals. They range from mainstream ballads to high-impact dance tracks.
It took two guys from Sweden to envision blending Hawaiian chant with mainstream pop and techno club music, and Henry and Peter Bergstrom are doing it in world-class style. The imagination and skill of the Bergstrom brothers, who wrote the songs, make this album one of the most remarkable local pop records of the year.
The Bergstroms prove themselves more than electronic musicians and mixing board wizards. They flavor their club mixes with staccato sound bites but create vivid lyric images when crafting slower pop love songs.
The Sunland vocal team is equally substantial. Claudia Vazquez, Natalie Kamauu, Chad Guerrero, and Iolani Kamauu distinguish themselves throughout. "September" and "Pahupahu" are solid ensemble numbers.
"It's All Good, Jack" combines social commentary and humor. "Pahupahu" stands out as an intense uptempo dance club song performed primarily in Hawaiian. What an inspiration it is!
Promises and Memories: Dennis Das Jr. (Fat Katz Productions)
WHERE do they find these guys? Producer Sean Na'auao and Fat Katz Productions introduce another talented "unknown" in Dennis Das Jr. He sings, plays ukulele and writes; half the songs here are originals. arrangements are crisp, clean and imaginative.
Three originals stand out: "Missed You" is solid Hawaiian pop with country undercurrents. "Baby Baby" sets a tale of rejection and romantic longing to a katchi katchi beat. "Malia's Dance" is a wistful English language ode to a hula dancer.
While some local acts knock themselves trying to do note-for-note copies of other acts' hits, Das and Na'auao prove skilled at deriving fresh versions.
The closest they come to copywork is a remake of Jim Reeves' 1959 mega-hit, "He'll Have to Go." Das' Hawaiian-country interpretation is less dramatic than Reeves' but succeeds as a fresh take on a familiar song.
There are two beautiful falsetto selections for Hawaiian traditionalists and a single local-reggae remake for die-hard "kanakafarians." Das is clearly versatile; liner notes by the artist and his mother add depth and detail to this well-crafted album.
John Berger, who has covered the local entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Home Zone section on Fridays for the latest reviews.
See Record Reviews for some of John Berger's past reviews.
