For such a young musician, Trevor Hall has quite the catalogue under his belt. On his latest, he brings together his spiritual outlook and world views under one umbrella for a collection of music that shows off his growth over his career. Trevor makes fun music and is able to connect with listeners on so many different levels. His music is full of spirituality without the burden of being religious. This time around he presents a full disc of new music featuring his signature reggae influenced folk rock while adding in a few left turns for good measure. The reggae is prominent and on songs like "Good Rain" and "The Return" it is what you'd expect. He dabbles in a few deeper cuts of reggae on the rootsy "Different Hunger" and the dancehall-inspired "Fire" which features guest vocalist Cherine Anderson. The first single "Brand New Day" is radio gold and features positive lyrics mixed into the familiar delivery of a folk-pop song. Hall gets deep on "Te Amo" and "The Mountain" as well as including interesting interludes that transport the listener into his musical and spiritual journey. Trevor Hall is one of the most unique musicians out there today, and this new album showcases his uniqueness in a very familiar and accessible way.
For Zee Avi's second album she stays in the same vein as her first, with a slight twist. The maturity of this album is much more elevated than on her debut, which in itself, was excellent. Her lyrics and her music show how much she has grown as a musician, and the prime example of that is the song "Milestone Moon." Her pop rock elements show up at the forefront of the first single "The Book Of Morris Johnson" and the lead track "Swell Window." She is a master of the ukulele and the acoustic guitar, and the simplicity of her music adds to the complexity of her message. Sometimes, doing not much actually does more than you might think. Heavy production, drum machines, and full orchestras are not what you need to make beautiful music. All you need is thought, care, intensity, and heart, and for Zee Avi all of those come together better than ever on her newest release.