Ynana Rose
Album: Ynana Rose
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.ynanarose.com

To be honest until this package dropped through the letterbox, I have to admit that I hadn't heard of California based singer-songwriter Ynana Rose, but then having read her biography to discover that "Ynana Rose" is her debut cut and I sort of forgave myself. I forgave myself because that meant there weren't album's out there that I had missed and would need to chase down.

Ynana writes nine of the eleven tracks on her debut leaving Dolly Parton and Steve Key, to take up the other two. Those names should also give you a reference as to where Ms. Rose takes her lyrics and melodies, incorporating a number of the US folk genres, with an undeniable bias towards bluegrass, never a bad thing.

One of the things I found myself really enjoying on "Ynana Rose", was the sense of perspective, on the first play though with no prompts from the booklet, I'd identified "Lovin' A Man Like Me" as the Steve Key, for no other reason than it had been written and performed, almost as a warning, from the male perspective with no gender swap in the piece, it's actually one of Rose's and also one of my favourite tracks on the album.

The songs themselves are instrumented for what suits their particular slant and style, so you might find a fiddle on one track, uke on the next, it actually matters very little as Ynana's vocals give a consistency of tone across the album, whilst giving the songs enough space to stand in their own right.

Similarly whilst there are songs where she seems super confident, there are also songs where the lyrics and vocal infections give rise to a feeling of insecurity, that she pulls both of speak of her talent as a performer as well as a writer and one well worth sounding out.

Ynana Rose may be a new name to Americana based singer-songwriting, but based on this outing, I would hazard a guess it won't be long before she comes a more familiar one. This self titled debut makes a good calling card, fingers crossed that she follows it up with a visit at sometime soon.

Neil King