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Irish singer Laura Izibor's truth is all soul

By
MIKE FARRAGHER,
Irish Voice Reporter

Published Friday, June 26, 2009, 4:03 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6:11 PM

 

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Laura Izibor
Laura Izibor

Don’t let anyone tell you that that “nothing’s free” in life. Dublin singer Laura Izibor is offering her new single, “Don’t Stay,” at no charge on the iTunes web site this week!

It is a taste from her debut album, Let the Truth Be Told, which is also offered on the popular downloading site for a bargain at $7.99.

Don’t let the pale skin and inability to dance fool you -- our motherland has churned out its fair share of people with soul to spare. The Commitments is still one of the best soul albums for my money, Republic of Loose mix funk grooves with a classic R&B vibe, while Van Morrison is singlehandedly responsible for providing the soundtrack of conception for countless babies with his unique brand of blue eyed Celtic soul music.

"The foundation begins with soul," explains 20-year-old singer/songwriter/producer Izibor in her press release when asked to describe her passionate, piano-guided songs.

On Let the Truth Be Told, Izibor continues the lineage set out by “neo soul” artists like Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott by bringing modern sensibilities with early R&B influences.

A few years ago, Samantha Mumba tried to peddle herself as a soulful, dark-skinned Irishwoman, but she was a mere paper tiger unleashed by boy band impresario Louis Walsh. Make no mistake -- Izibor has more soul in her pinky than Westlife, Boyzone and Mumba combined. 

“You’re my light in the dark,” she coos on “Mmm,” a gospel-tinged track, which finds the sultry singer sounding like Alicia Keys begging for redemption after a night roughing up her voice with whiskey and cigarettes.

Like Keys, Izibor sings from the perspective of a woman way beyond her years, but unlike Keys, she dispenses with dramatic vocal gymnastics in favor of playing it straight and sexy.

On “Yes (I’ll Be Your Baby)” she purrs and growls her way through a shuffling beat and a horn-infused melody to create a hot slow jam. She drains the drama out of the string section and sends her lover packing on the last track, the heartfelt “I Don’t Want You Back.”

Born to a working class family in Dublin, Izibor admits she didn't grow up in a musical household.

"My mother raised five kids on her own, so there wasn't much time to buy records,” she says. “It wasn't that kind of home. I found myself fancying music at about 13."

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