Love Remains

About

Tal Wilkenfeld made her bones as a bass prodigy, impressing such heavy-hitters as Herbie Hancock, Lee Ritenour, and Jeff Beck when she was in her early twenties. Wilkenfeld gained their attention through the dexterous chops she displayed on her 2007 debut Transformation. An audacious if slightly old-fashioned exercise in jazz fusion, Transformation has little to do with Love Remains, the sophomore set Wilkenfeld delivered 12 long years later. Wilkenfeld spent those years working as a sidewoman -- her main gig was in Jeff Beck's band, but she also worked with Toto, Ryan Adams, Todd Rundgren, and Jackson Browne -- while also redefining her solo music, moving firmly into the realm of '90s alternative rock. With its cascades of roiling guitars and dark, churning rhythms -- heavy textures tempered by a clutch of songs anchored on insistent acoustic guitars -- Love Remains seems to belong to another time: one that existed just after grunge and ceased to be after the rise of Total Request Live. What gives Love Remains a bit of a spark is Wilkenfeld's evident passion. Given her background, a high level of craft should be expected -- Wilkenfeld and her supporting musicians do not flaunt their skills, but rather hit their marks with precision -- but what's surprising is how Wilkenfeld pours herself into these retro-'90s anthems, and that level of emotional engagement prevents Love Remains from an exercise in throwback alternative rock.

via Last.fm