
MONIQUE RHODES: Awakening
By Tony Parker
Monique Rhodes is a NZ-born singer who has been living, performing and recording in Sydney and now resides in France. Her debut album is a collection of original material reflecting her singer/songwriter role. Rhodes possesses a powerful voice that immediately initiates comparisons with Sheryl Crow or Melissa Etheridge and she draws from the same thematic wellspring of emotive heart-on-the-sleeve love songwriting. It’s a confident performance and her songwriting shows a melodic sensibility that is enhanced by the mid tempo acoustic pop/rock sound provided by her band. That it sounds like any number of other female singer/songwriters is the one drawback of ‘Awakening’ however, and regardless of Rhodes’ strong performances and competent songwriting, nothing here adds anything new to the female singer/songwriter genre. •
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