Album Review by EDF
After the publicity and praise Quecia received of their debut album, most groups would have quickly gone into a recording studio to record the follow-up album. Not Quecia, who instead built their own studio and spent the best part of 18 months writing and recording their second album, II. The result of this is an album with a raw rock sound that eclipses their debut album. Lead vocalist Kirsty McCarrick is obviously the star on the album with a vocal delivery that shines out throughout the album.
The album starts off with an acoustic guitar hook on HIDE AWAY and then the rest of the band eventually kicks in, sounding very polished. Kirsty’s vocals are complimented throughout by her younger sister Hayley who supplies harmonies. The music takes on various twist and turns thanks to Paul Ayre’s guitar work, where he not only plays lead but also adds texture to each song. To prove the point BIRD IN A CAGE is a three-minute pop rock song but listen to the guitar before the solo comes in and it sounds as if Ayre’s has been listening to some 1970’s hard rock. There are shades of Cher to be found on NEW DRESS but when Kirsty unleashes her voice, you can only sit in awe at Kirsty’s impressive vocal ability. Kirsty also provides a soulful performance on TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE and Hayley joins in too add texture to the song. Elsewhere mid tempo tunes such as YOU KNOW THE TIME can be compared to other groups like The Corrs but as Quecia are a relatively new band, it is possible that their sound will evolve. It will only be a matter of time before Quecia gain a wider audience and going by the results on this album, they are heading in the right direction.
