Juvicsa is a powerful Swedish/Peruvian vocalist and songwriter, who merges together elements of Pop, R&B, Latin Music, Rock, and even a hint of electronica. On July 5th 2016, Juvicsa released her debut EP “Eyes To Land” produced by Federico Angel and recorded in Reykjavik, Iceland, Los Angeles, CA and Houston, TX.
This is a fine collection of varied, finely crafted, melodious but edgy songs with intelligent lyrics, and Juvicsa is a very, very good singer who has the talent to put those songs across with real meaning. The music is excellent – tight and gutsy but sensitive to the meaning of every song – and the production is fabulous.
It is often huge, to the point of being gloriously overblown sometimes, and I absolutely love the result. A producer has to have real skill and class to create the sort of wall of sound which sometimes develops here – sometimes electric, and at others electronic – without it degenerating into a rather generic mush, and “Eyes To Land” produced by Federico Angel has skill and class all over it.
Hyperbole aside, this album is the masterpiece I wasn’t expecting. If you listen to the radio, you may figure that most of what they play these days is crap. But if you dig just a little, you’ll realize that the past few years have produced some of the most exciting music in decades. You’ll need to search and uncover these gems though. Luckily this one found me, and I’m eternally grateful. Juvicsa is not your ordinary female pop singer.
How many songstresses give you Goosebumps? About a handful in my experience, yet I get them when listening to most of the songs on this album, even after a few listening sessions. Juvicsa’s vocals on “Slow” not only gives me goose bumps, it is so intense that it fills me with emotion. Juvicsa has an amazing voice and it is on full, glorious display here.
It isn’t just her voice, however; the entire project’s contribution cannot be overestimated. You really can hear each instrument; it isn’t just a “wall of sound”. That shows how well the arrangement, recording, mastering and production were done. All round though, this album is an amazing example of orchestral pop-rock at its finest.
There’s no doubt Juvicsa is a gifted woman in the music business and her intentions through every song here go from being honest, loud, sweet and even angry. Just listen again, to the arrangement and performance during “High Tonight”, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
She knows exactly what she wants to achieve vocally with each specific arrangement and delivers her intentions clearly and powerfully on every track – probably none better than the scorching power ballad “Now”, which is an explosion of unbridled soaring energy.
I can’t really say how much I loved this album, since I’m still busy loving it…more and more each day! 5 Stars is not nearly enough, and will not do Juvicsa or her music justice. I believe that the key to her massively captivating sound is that she has an actual, identifiable range of dynamics so wide, within which she works her vocal and songwriting crafts that she is able to embrace an enormous range of expression.
This is what ultimately separates Juvicsa from her less endowed contemporaries.
MORE ABOUT: At the age of twelve, Juvicsa moved from Peru to Sweden where her passion for music developed into more than simply a hobby when she began taking piano lessons and soon enrolled in music school. In 2012, she moved to Hollywood, California to hone her skills at the Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music in the center Hollywood. She currently resides in Reykjavik, Iceland adding inspiration from its culture to her library of sounds and ideas. In Iceland, Juvicsa also started expanding her talent by composing music for TV, which resulted in her being asked to write the official theme song of a TV show in Indonesia.
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This is a really great review. I LOVE this album and as you say, that wall of sound! It gives me chills every time too. Juvicsa is an awesome woman,. And I’m not just saying that because she is a friend. I am constantly humbled by her talent. The first time I ever heard her sing actually brought tears to my eyes.
Thank You!
Nixx