It's certainly been a while since we last heard from Lina, the talented singer/songwriter who got her break penning songs for Tyrese's self-titled debut album, which led to her scoring a record deal of her own. Her 2001 debut, Stranger On Earth, was an experimantal mix of vocal jazz and R&B and was well received on the indie soul scene, leading to her striking up a deal with Hidden Beach who released her follow up, and probably best known album, The Inner Beauty Movement. Since then she has released two further albums, 2008's Morning Star and 2010's Vintage, a collection of previously unreleased material which largely flew under the radar. Now she is back with a new album and a "new" sound -- at least for her -- with The Love Chronicles of a Lady Songbird: A Tribute To Soul. Inspired by time spent working alongside Roberta Flack, Lina has gone the well-trodden, "vintage soul" path, giving her original material a '70s-sheen reminiscent of works by the likes of Leela James, Raphael Saadiq and CeeLo Green. While I'm still somewhat dubious about artists going the retro route without giving it an original spin, by the sounds of the three-track sampler after the bounce, Lina has some solid material on her hands.
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After the bounce
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