No Rain No Flowers by Sabrina Claudio

I am new to Sabrina Claudio but I find this album enjoyable. It's a good length at eight tracks and they all flow together as a singular album very nicely. It's a moody sounding R&B/Jazz fusion album and Claudio always sings with the same breathy voice. It works quite well and I found myself enjoying this album and listening to it over and over. I find the song "Naked" to be a standout for me and I find her to be an interesting lyricist.

My pride fell down my body like my silk dress
This is me naked, oh

All of me is all for you
Uncover all of my truths
Undress my fears, leave me nude
All of me is all for you
For you

In my mind, unravelled
Like the lace of my corset, this is me naked
And I'm open to openin' myself to you fully
My full body, oh

All of me is all for you
Uncover all of my truths
Undress my fears, leave me nude
All of me is all for you
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (For you)
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Strip me to my fingertips
I will tell you all of it

With her sound I think it is easy to dismiss her lyrics similar to what I think a lot of people have done with Sade, but I find her voice interesting. There are a lot of good young female songwriters out there and i would add her to the list.

Just listening to this album and not reading anything about it, it feels like the album tells a story. We start with the song "Come Here" where she is inviting this person to come into her life because she feels like they get her. We then get "Naked," where she is totally opening herself up for this person. Then we get "Cycle" where she is realizing that things are not going to work with this person and she's frustrated that she went through this just to get to nothing. Then the song "Creation" where she sings about how she created this person to be the perfect lover for the next person. This leads to "Numb" where she is no longer angry or sad just numb to everything. Then "Did We Lose Our Minds" where there is lament about what was lost. This is followed by "Control" where she is realizing that by opening up to her feelings and feeling all of this misery she suddenly feels free. We then end with "Messages From Her" which focuses on finding the part of herself that will always be strong and resilient. I will admit I have not put a ton of thought into this and maybe I'm missing some stuff here and there but it works well and I admire her for how she constructed this album and pulled it off with smart lyrics.

Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.