Songwriter Christina Perri and American violinist Lindsey Sterling team up to produce “Brave Enough”—a collection of classical and rock covers that demonstrates the young violinist’s musical tastes, versatility and overall ability as a performance artist and even a composer. Many of the songs off the album have this unique, almost Anime-type quality to them in sound. This is achieved by playing octaves and double stops on the violin which Sterling does really well. The styles and textures of the song covers makes for a very eclectic mix of raw talent going at it.
Favorites of this reviewer include “Pheonix”—a G minor gem that has her pulling out all the stops and playing really slick. Another favorite is “Arena” with the melody in the violin leading the charge. A fantastic closer is “Gavi’s Song,” with its sadness vibe and just a simple piano accompaniment. Sometimes a soft and simple song is all one needs. Most of the other songs on the album, save for that one are all medium to uptempo covers of pop songs. All of them are extremely well recorded. It sounds like something that would be in a feature performance on American Idol or America’s Got Talent. The quality is superb!
“Mirage” is one of the only tracks that features a lead vocal along with the violin playing in the background, complete with harmonics and different bowing techniques. For many, this album is one of the coolest and best for the younger generation whose interest in classical music is fading. It’s a great way to get them interested in string instruments.
“Something Wild” a cover of the pop song is another such song with a vocal part where this time, the vocal part and violin part sing in octaves to each other. It makes for a pleasing texture. The title track is a fabulous representation of string slides. It reminds me of Japanese or Asian pop. It’s good for dance music as well! All in all, this collection is very well put together with some fabulous songs on display. It could be a great show album and a joy to watch performed live. The artist hit this one out of the park!
