FAZER MAGAZINE – I Dare You – Review

Ali Milner - I Dare You

Ali Milner
I Dare You

Label: Purple House Productions

http://www.myspace.com/alimilner

By: Alex Young

The Canadian vocal sensation Ali Milner, that CBC radio calls “the next Joni Mitchell”, is breaking through to audiences across North America with her bold debut album I Dare You. Milner has a sensational flare for incorporating the glitz and glamour found in Broadway musicals like “Chicago” to life alongside the boisterous style of crooners like Michael Bublé and the jazzy John Mayer with a woman’s touch. I Dare You also features dynamic drum beats, silky smooth bass lines, jazzy guitars, a sensational horn section and charming piano passages.

Many of Milner’s songs are stories of hopeless romance, the lust for love and her search to define her emotions for herself in the course of enchanting life experiences told through her enrapturing voice. The song “Crystal Clear” tells a classic tale of good loving gone bad after an enchanting one night stand turns sour when she finds out her knight in shining armor already has another lady love wrapped around his finger. The title-track is an ambitious acoustic ballad featuring a subtle yet spellbinding string section while Milner soars through lyrics like: “Be my man, prove that you can/show me you care to/if you’re not scared to/I dare you to love”. However, there are songs that are not tells of a love once lost, such as the joyous track “Gonna Dance” which is a bluesy romp celebrating the moment when a great song sweeps you off your feet. The final track “Can’t Change This Girl” was born to be her calling card because it crystallizes Milner’s classy vocals and the sophisticated songwriting that is bound to become her signature style. “Can’t Change This Girl” features lyrics that allow Milner’s charismatic voice to capture the listener, such as: “But you can’t change the world/and you can’t change this girl/if I let you down/why do you keep coming ‘round?”.

All in all the album serves as a great throw back to the classic sounds of big band charmers like the Rat Pack that sounds equally influenced by modern artists like Norah Jones or Allison Krauss. The songs on I Dare You are held together with soulful melodies wrapped up in Milner’s ravishing vocals that will leave anyone searching for Canada’s next diva breathless.

BLANKJEBUS – January 11th, 16:55

Ali Milner - I Dare You, Review.

awesome
[info]blankjebus

United States, Wisconsin, Sheboygan

Current Mood: excited

Ali Milner has to be, by far, one of the most talented young artists I've ever listened to. The 19 year old Jazz/Pop artist, who released her sophomore album "I Dare You" in quarter 2009, is showing nothing but growth and improvement.

Ali's vocal work is powerful. Shocking to those who doesn't know who she is. The songs transition very well, and each sounds different from the previous one. The songs run on the short side, some of them average to a little under 3 minutes, but with 13 songs there's plenty of music to listen to.

Ali does a great job at going from a slower song, like the title track I Dare You, to going to upbeat and fun like the song Gonna Dance. It made me wanna get up and dance, and i found myself bouncing along with the song.

The piano work is great, goes along very well with each song. Each song is accompanied with a wide array of different instruments, making each song sound like a different experience.

Overall, this album is fantastic! This one will be played for a while, and will more than likely be one of those albums that i come back to over and over again.

i give this album a 9 out of 10, but that's probably because i have a bias towards Ali Milner.

Give a listen to Ali Milner on her myspace http:/www.myspace.com/alimilner and tell me what you think of her.

METRO CANADA – December 16, 2009

Ali Milner mixes genres
Reggae, R&B and rock accompany singer’s jazz-based pop numbers

I Dare You is the new album from 19-year-old singer-songwriter Ali Milner.

by BRIAN COULTON

As a music fan, Ali Milner gets bored pretty easily.

So when she set out to make her recently released sophomore album I Dare You, the 19-year-old singer/songwriter, who divides her time between Vancouver and her native Whistler, B.C., said she made a conscious effort to impart variety on her own listeners.

“When we were writing, I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, does this song sound the same as the last song we wrote, or the one before that?’” she said on the phone from Whistler, just after returning home from a pre-Olympic performance in Tokyo, “I want them all to be fresh, different and a new experience for the listener.”

Milner’s motivation is clear on I Dare You. The album, largely comprised of love songs that feature her on keys and vocals, diverts from the jazz-driven sound she put into gear on her self-titled debut at age 14. This time, reggae, R&B and rock all accompany the record’s jazz-based-pop numbers, underscored by Milner’s sweet but strong vocals.

She can’t quite pinpoint how her diverse musical influences developed. Drawing inspiration from artists as mixed as Sam Cooke, Puccini and Led Zeppelin, Milner boils it down to innate feeling, “I just get into different moods and want to listen to different stuff,” she laughs.

Though her ear may be in many places, Milner’s mind appears focused. Lyrically and melodically, she said she’s grown into a level of confidence that allowed her to fashion an album in a more personal niche as she’s matured.

“I definitely feel I’m more certain who I am,” she said, “(In between albums) I played at the Four Seasons in Whistler a couple times a week for two years. With all those hours under my belt, my performing is a lot more confident.”

Milner’s performance practice has already paid off. She won glowing praise from Sarah McLachlan after performing at a children’s hospital event. And jazz-popper Michael Bublé invited her to sing with him on stage at a post-Juno Awards party.

“It’s really interesting gratification to get because I feel like they’re along the same vein of music that I am. They’re far ahead in their careers and have achieved a life from it,” a sentiment Milner said encourages her to think she, too, could make music a life-long vocation.

But first, she’s set on improving her songwriting ability by working with new minds she hopes to meet with any success garnered by her new album. “That’s what cultivates a life-long career.”