Reviewed by Helen Whitall

'Journey On Home' is the debut EP from Birmingham's Karselis. This proves that she is a great singer/songwriter; the EP is musically very good and the lyrics are full of emotion. But sadly, it is badly let down as a listen by poor, amateur self-production. Though the instruments - guitar, strings, percussion and piano - are recorded to a reasonable quality and although Joanna has a fabulous, powerful voice, the recording of her vocals is tinny and sounds far away. On "Crimson Tide", the vocal recording quality is so poor she sounds as though she is in another room! However, the low-fi vocals almost work on the simple piano ballad "Live Alone", giving the song an interesting over-the-phone quality. 'Journey On Home' might just work as a demo to get her noticed as a live performer but this singer and songs deserve a reasonable quality mic.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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