Guess You Got It
Guess You Got It - which was issued on PRE, a new Real World imprint - is crammed with songs that already sound like classics. With Pina augmenting her hypnotic, weather-beaten vocals by playing piano and strumming a second-hand 1970 Strat-Plus, the album often swerves off on surprising tangents. Despite this, it never loses its underlying shape or direction. Pina often experiments with rhythm and texture, but there is nothing vague about her songwriting.
Listening to Guess You Got It, I hear hints of Patti Smith's improvised poetry, the anguish of Portishead's Beth Gibbons, the wild blues of Janis Joplin and the ferocity of Throwing Muses. Others will no doubt make their own comparisons. What should be clear to everyone, however, is that the album is built on human feelings rather than modern studio trickery. And that's down primarily to Pina's phenomenal singing.
Reviews
[Pina's] second album draws on folk/country roots, often with the harsh, swarthy textures of rock. From the gospelly, Gothic blues of 'I Was Walking' to a deliriously happy 'Bucket of Love', this, her second album, radiates an unusual compelling beauty.
[Pina's] sophomore album again points to a sharp and wildly unorthodox attitude on songs such as the guitar-rippling, muscular 'Burning' and the whiplash blues of 'I Was Walking' sounds like Macy Gray taking a stroll with Robert Plant in the Sahara, while 'Dark Blue And Gold' could be a signature tune for Joss Stone. Quirky and original.
