By: Liz Levine
Rating: 7/11

Having recorded several solo albums during what, for someone her age, is a lengthy career, Alana Sweetwater
has found a wonderfully solid match in her partnership with The Heavy
Steppers. A ramshackle group of songsters whose throwback swagger make
them more speakeasy than concert hall. Their sound blends to
immeasurable benefit with Sweetwater’s sensual, enticing vocals. Her
assertive wail is reminiscent of prohibition era club singers and
countless roles in musical theatre, even gently alluding to Chicago
with album opener “Who's Dancing Me” and its likening of love to a
marionette on strings. Collaborating with the bunch saves her casual
chord strumming from singer/songwriter obscurity, lending depths of
rhythm and raucousness to her words and purrs.

The
Heavy Steppers move easily between Broadway bigness, general rock
accompaniment, and sounds that seem made for poorly lit cabarets.
Trumpet player Phil Rodriquez is prominently featured on most tracks,
his horn’s seductive drawl stealing the show whether via boozy, muted
“wah wah” on “Who's Dancing Me,” or lonely Mariachi sweetness on “Push
and Pull.” The highly unique rhythm section boasts two atypical
beat-makers: Marlon Grace on the cajón, a Peruvian box drum that offers
swift, Flamenco slaps, and tap dancer Boom whose happy feet click with
laudable skill through “The Humpty Song” and “Better Off Alone.” The
HS’s boozy, classic cool shifts a bit from its endearing oldtimeyness
when Jason Decorse slips in his classic rock solos on the electric,
highlighting the group as an incredibly diverse set of musicians.

As
a singer, Sweetwater comes off as one who has been through hard times
and is all the stronger for them, not only because of the self-assured,
lessons-learned tendencies of her lyrics, but her empowered delivery
that would leave any scoundrel shaking at the knees. In “Living In a
Bubble” it’s made clear what she thinks of our modern society, with a
singsong tempo mocking technology obsession and our perpetual choosing
of machine over human contact; it’d be perfect for a delightfully
ironic ipod or laptop commercial. Later, the scathing “So Resistable”
could be the girlpower anthem of 2009, as a misleadingly sweet guitar
opening turns into a poppy portrayal of an idiot lover. With lines like
“Your mouth says things that make your lips unkissable,” this girl
won’t be crying into her pillow anytime soon. Sweetwater elevates her
inherent talent with loads of flourishes the likes of which we just
haven’t seen before, from her finely-honed vocal technique to her more
than memorable collaborating band.