For the most part, Alyxx Dione has flown under the musical radar. While the aspiring artist has a small following, she didn’t attract major attention until she joined the masses who covered Drake‘s “Marvin’s Room” earlier this year. However, Dione’s version differed from many of the others in that 1) it was accompanied by a relatively sexy video; and 2) it was a stark contrast to Aubrey’s inebriated bitterness and instead told the tale of a woman torn, scorned, and yet still wanting a man she knew wasn’t good enough for her.

Once the Alyxx Dione “Marvin’s Room” remake hit the internets, people wanted more. And thankfully, Alyxx heard the people’s calls – on the first of September, Dione released her greatly anticipated project, September.

Many of September’s songs seem to be deeply personal. Take the track “Why’d You Come Back,” on which Alyxx laments an ex that seems to pop in and out of her life just when she’s finally convinced herself she’s over him. You can hear the emotion in Dione’s words when she sings on the chorus, “Is this what you intended to do – break my heart and steal it too?” And perhaps the most affecting part of “Why’d You Come Back” is its final 50 seconds, during which Dione seems to channel Wale and drop a little spoken word, but seems to start sobbing mid-rhyme. This pulling-at-the-heartstrings effect is achieved again on the “Regret It,” a track that tiptoes the line between sassy and in denial as Alyxx Dione insists the man who left her can’t have moved on so easily or heartlessly from her.

I also wonder if it’s purely coincidental that Alyxx Dione would mention deceased singer Aaliyah as one of her influences in the album’s liner notes; because the titular track, “September,” easily reminds me of the timeless Aaliyah song “Miss U” with its slow, guaranteed-to-get-your-head bobbing instrumentation and the song’s storytelling. And the subtle-guitar driven “Dysfunctional” will probably resonate with many female listeners who often feel a need to justify their love. I wouldn’t be surprised if this sneaks up on a few people on their iTunes, or if the ladies catch themselves quoting “We may not be perfect/ We’re perfectly us.”

The album does have a few missed opportunities. Two tracks on the album,”Pursuit of Happyness” and “Fall Down,” give listeners a taste of how Alyxx Dione might sound on dance-sounding tracks. Both songs are sassy and liberating, thanks to great production from HITIMPULSE and Tario Holmes, respectively… but they only make up for two of September‘s nine songs. I would have liked to hear at least one more track with Dione on a faster beat, especially given how well she sounds on these (“Fall Down” easily has dance-club banger potential). “Fall Down” and “Pursuit of Happyness” do as well sound a bit too similar to each other beat-wise.

It also felt like a tease whenever Dione spoke before or after a track. The album itself already plays like one love long story being told from initial infatuation to finally letting go; so I would have LOVED to hear Alyxx’s subtle voice in consistent speaking parts between tracks, a la Lyfe Jennings on Lyfe 268-192, serving as between the tracks commentary.

All in all, however, September mostly works as an aural soap opera by an artist who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable. And for a project that was almost entirely self-made - outside of production, Alyxx Dione wrote and mixed every song on the album herself – it lacks real polish, but certainly shows promise. This reviewer hopes we hear more from her soon.

FINAL SCORE: 8.0

Jay Howard Gatsby

Author in progress who ended up making his hobby of listening to good music somewhat of a job. I get to work on behalf of something I love. "I love it when a plan comes together!" - Hannibal from The A-Team

• Web
|
• Twitter
|
• More Posts