NO HYMNS FOR PASTER

by Shanna Lynn Fanelli a & e editor

There is something missing from the collection of songs b}' Judy Paster.

What's missing is the loud, screeching noises accompanied by furious guitar chords and jangled, static-sounding notes that have become the repeated ingredient in most "nouvelle" artists.

A nice change and rather refreshing, Paster presents a line of songs that don't lecture, anger, complain or irritate but instead explore different emotions, relationships and situations that she has gone through and invites others to relate to.

While some critics are calling her the "next Sheryl Crow" and comparing the "Petite Powerhouse of Sound" to really rocking tunes, Paster has more folk songs than anything else.

The interesting thing about Paster's music is that each song has its own identity. That is to say that one song is not an exact mimic of the other, or the same tune with the chords reversed. Her songs have structure and an almost innocent quality to them that make them enjoyable to listen to.

Surprisingly, the best song on her self-titled album is the last one, "All My Relations." It delivers some nice harmonies and the kind of melody that can be stuck in one's head without getting annoying.

"Rise and Fall," "Running" and "All My Relations" photo on the far right is courtesy of Randex Communications, center photo obtained from inside of CD jacket. have good beats that veer towards the style of classic rock. Also refreshing in a mass-produced era of studio brats and bubble-gum pop composed with a click and a switch of machinery and manipulation, is the fact that Paster practices the lost art of writing all her own songs.

For more information on Judy Paster log onto www.airrecords.com, CDNow and Amazon.com.

If you're looking for riot grrl music or heavy, crashing sounds, it won't be found on Paster's album. What will be found is nice music. There is nothing shocking, revolutionary or incredibly outstanding about Paster's sounds, but there's nothing wrong, horrendous or intolerable about them either.

Paster is like the yellow jelly bean in the bag; nothing to love, nothing to hate but if it's there, something to like.

Matt Holmes photography editor

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