Collected Sounds

Album Name: Ruleta
Artist: Zayra Alvarez
Year/Label: 2006 / Brando Records
[Buy at Amazon]

Review by Amy Lotsberg Producer of Collected Sounds

For those of you with no TV or not up on your pop culture (what’s wrong with you?) Zayra Alvarez was a contestant on the show Rockstar: Supernova. It is a reality show/contest where this band, Supernova (made up of a bunch of guys from crappy old bands…OK the ‘crappy’ part, is my opinion, just never got into those bands) and they’re looking for a lead singer. This is the second season of this show; last year it was INXS looking for a new singer. I was addicted to that one as well.

I gave Zayra (for some reason, pronounced Sy-EEE-ta) a little bit of flack in my first writing about the Rockstar show. She seemed all flash and little substance, but I had to admit, she was a blast to watch. She wore very funky/sexy/daring costumes, whacked out her hair and wailed like a banshee. She was, by far, the most entertaining contestant But alas, she was given the boot.

Shortly after said boot, she released an album. How did I know this? Well, I joined her mailing list of course. I offered to review it and they sent me a copy.

I just learned that this album was actually released in 2004 with a much less flashy cover and different track listing (so to me, it’s a different album, but whatever) .

So enough background…

Zayra has a very interesting voice. Its like Bjork, mixed with Deloris O’Reardon (Cranberries) but with a Puerto Rican accent. It sounds great when the song is right for her.

The first track has a bit of a J.Lo feel to it. So if you know me at all, you know it means I can take it or leave it. But it gets better.

“This Is Love” reminds me of Jill Tracy but with a more electronic beat. Many of these songs would work nicely in a club atmosphere. But I tend to like the mellower pop stuff like “So Long” and “Forever”. All in all a nice record and I wish only the best for Zayra. She entertained me for a good portion of the summer!

Posted on September 15, 2006

Track Listing
1. Rock Me Baby
2. This Is Love
3. Alma Boricua
4. So Long
5. Lluvia de Mar
6. Amigo Mio
7. Hoy
8. Entiendeme
9. Broken
10. Cuando
11. Monet
12. Forever
13. Rock Me Baby (edit)
14. Solo
15. Por Siempre

[Zayra Alvarez Official Site]