Sabrina Chap has talent to spare and she's the forefront on her new release, "Oompa!", this collection is all about her vocals, piano and production.
Sabrina's obviously having a good time exploring and interpreting vintage americana (blues, ragtime, jazz, hints of bluegrass, a bit of swing), there's an upbeat sense of fun on this CD that's hard to beat.
Collectively "Oompa!" is cabaret music, a sort of proto-lounge jazz that's best enjoyed in an intimate club, drink in hand and friends at your side.
The production (handled by Chap herself, a gutsy move by anyone on their second release) is clear, clean and pop-worthy. Sabrina's always the center with her strong, rich, textured vocals making the songs go down easy. Songs like "Never Been a Bad Girl" and "Boat Song" bring a smile to my normally sour puss.
There's a downside to this production strategy though: there's a lot of great playing by Sabrina's band but they generally come across as being there just to support Sabrina (with a few notable exceptions: the fiddle on "Carolina", the trombone on "Never Again"). That's too bad, Chap is smart enough to surround herself with talented musicians and featuring them more would just increase the dynamism and variety of the album, give it a more full texture.
Overall "Oompa!" is a very strong album, one I enjoy.
But on progressive listens I found myself hearing a blueprint for future releases. The songs are good but it seems to me that Sabrina is still searching, trying to find the parts of early jazz and americana that are distinctly "her's", the ones that will reveal her the best.
Right now these wonderful songs sound as if they could have come from the pen of a number of talented songwriters. I find myself hunting for the bit that is uniquely Sabrina Chap, there's no mistaking her vocal style but I think she's still in the process of finding her singular voice.
