• Band / Artist : Rachael Cantu
• Genre : Rock
• Sample Track Download : Saturday
• Buy CD : Label Store
• Buy Digital Download : iTunes
• Rating : 8.5 out of 10

Sometimes I receive albums and EPs, in addition to review materials requested and sometimes I receive totally non solicited music, which always has me on edge, as sometimes it’s not to my taste. Indie Launchpad is all about showcasing the best of independent music, but it’s pretty much tracked down and requested by me. So when I place a CD in the player for the first time, of something I have no clue of what to expect, there’s a certain amount of excitement and a certain amount of trepidation. With Run All Night I need not have worried.

I’ve said over and over again, that I’m a sucker for a beautiful voice, but it’s more than that. A beautiful voice is very nice, but without character, it’s just another beautiful voice. Rachael Cantu has the whole package, a pretty face and a voice like a razor blade, cutting through pure silk. An angel in a wilderness of despair, but it’s not that this is a depressing album. It’s hard to put my finger on, but it’s almost like listening in to someone’s therapy. Melancholy facing anger. Bitterness meeting beauty.

This is relatively short album, at just 8 tracks and a little of 27 minutes, but all of those tracks, showcase Rachael’s incredibly beautiful voice. Opening very strongly with “Hear My Laughter”, it gives you a good idea of what to expect for the rest of the album. If I’m choosing standout tracks, they would have to be “Saturday”, which is probably the rockiest track on the album and the song that sends shivers down my spine, “Blood Laughs” with it’s ethereal organ backing, I can easily listen to that track over and over again without ever getting bored. In some ways it reminds me a lot of Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “hallelujah”. “My First War” is another song at a slightly more upbeat tempo, but the flavor of this album is very dark and moody, without broiling in depression.

Conclusion : After listening to this album, I felt like I’d been smacked in the face and woken up from some kind of slumber, only to have my face gently stroked after. Wondrous stuff indeed.