Soraya

January 4 - 11, 1 9 9 6

* Soraya

ON NIGHTS LIKE THIS

(Island)

Whereas Selena's Dreaming of You mixed standard American pop with Tejano flair, Soraya sticks with the patented VH-1 sound: a crisp female vocalist with smooth acoustic guitars and a soulless rhythm section. Included amid the sounds of whiteness is the token Spanish-language ballad, "Pueblito Viejo." Backed by a muzaky string section, Soraya makes a futile attempt to pass "Pueblito" off as a light, romantic number and remind her audiences that she is a Latina artist. Said audiences may instead think of it as music for dentists to drill to.

"On Nights like This" uses faux tribal drums and a Zamfir/Andean flute to punch up an otherwise lifeless song with no lyrical impact. In fact, all of Soraya's songs are aching for better lyrics, which would let us overlook the musical homogeneity. She strives for a pseudo-gospel effect with back-up singers on "Reason To Believe" but falls sinfully short. And the uptempo "Avalanche" sounds as if its perky keyboards had been cribbed from Amy Grant on a bad day.

-- Liz Rourke