Linda Debella – “Bend To The Light” – intelligent arrangements, soulful energy, and musical prowess!

Call this pop, rock, Americana, singer-songwriter, or whatever you like, it still will not cover all the musical flavors Los Angeles native Linda Debella packs into her self-written, self-recorded and self-produced album, “Bend To The Light”. Here Linda has demonstrated her ability to distill the essence of great all-embracing music, and relatable human emotion, down to its most captivating and potent forms. On this album, both passionate love and social consciousness is explored from all angles, as she deepens our understanding of these themes from her perspective. Not that these topics have never been presented by other artists before now, but Linda Debella brings a heavy dose of intelligent arrangements, soulful energy, and musical prowess that will keep listeners excited for the entire 12-track runtime.

With her fingerprint on just about every aspect of “Bend To The Light”, Linda Debella put out an album that is true quality from start to finish. The rich backing vocals provide lush backgrounds for the catchy melodies, while the organic-sounding instrumentation resonates with colorful vibrancy. Moreover, throughout the album, Linda proves that she has an ear for songs that ride the line between complexity and accessibility, which will allow her to be lauded by casual music fans and industry critics alike.

Linda Debella

Right from the opening track, “Love is on the Way”, we are reminded that Linda Debella is full of the talent, energy, and poignant messages that characterize her skillset. The song implies that despite all our troubles, we are on the verge of a revolution fueled by compassion and community. It sounds like a very optimistic thought, but one we should fully embrace, if we kindle any hope at all.

Linda’s vocals slide from hopeful to sultry in seconds, as she unfolds the theme of love on “Come Clean”. Her crystal-clear diction and nuanced vocal phrasing, always a treat, lifts off the beat and then leaves space where it is needed. She sits very tightly within the bluesy groove and gritty guitars. The confessional “Sirens”, is driven by a distinctive piano and throbbing percussion, while “Walk a Mile” is propelled by a slapping beat, which will have you tapping your feet endlessly.

The lyrics cut deep on the sentimental “Burn After Reading”, as does the fiery guitar solo. Linda Debella throws herself emotionally into “Too Little Too Late” and the result, was to stop and catch my breath by the beauty of it all. Linda again sings from her heart on “Soldiers”, while the backing vocal are simply sublime in this uplifting anthem. Unlike some vocalists who over-sing, Linda Debella has emotional command of her voice without using tricks or gimmicks to impress audiences. This is exactly what is highlighted on the poignant “Bliss”.

It is simply impressive to listen to a songstress who sings from the bottom of her soul with her feet firmly planted on the ground, as Linda Debella once again does on the piano-driven tracks, “Back to Whole” and “Slow Seduction”. Whether she is being deadly serious, as on the former track about the pandemic shutdown, or playfully sensual, as on the latter, Linda offers herself through her music, which actually makes listeners feel something.

The electric guitars rip through “Got it Bad” adding a wave of grit and urgency to the composition, before Linda Debella closes the album with lyrical and vocal eloquence of “Skywriting”. She has certainly come a long way with her passion, since her first job as a receptionist in a Hollywood recording studio, made her fall in love with music engineering and production. With a 360° dedication to her craft as an independent artist, Linda Debella sounds like the kind of incomparable wonder woman who embodies the power of music to move hearts, souls and minds.