Originally published by L.S. Media. May 22nd 2010.

It’s not often an album drops through your letter box from an artist that you have never heard of but who has heard of you. What do you do with said CD; you might put it on once, listen attentively for a while and then put it in your collection, never to be heard again.

To do this to the album In Avanti by Florida born and Californian based Alexx Calise would be nothing short of a shame, it is a stunning piece of work by someone so young and so very obviously talented.

The album opens up with the song Anything Goes which to be honest is a fair summing up of the album as a whole, for right from the opening moment you press play your ears are assaulted by some of the best rock vocals and guitars going. It is almost like the person of your dreams being completely outrageous one moment and then whispering the sweet nothings you long to hear next.

Anything Goes is just the start of what is rightly considered an absolute smash in Alexx’s native land by music critics and bloggers alike and too be fair who am I to argue with this opinion.

The album goes through many different emotions, some that I defy you not to feel your heart break as you listen to Alexx’s voice and this is especially true on the track Out of Sight which shows the depth of Alexx’s range. The song itself is full of the angst you would expect but with a small amount of irony in her voice that makes it so delicious a piece of music to listen to.

It is very rare to enjoy an album so much on first listen and it is a shame that Alexx is so far away that it might be a while before the British public gets to see her perform this album live.

Ian D. Hall