(01 October 2000) The debut album from rock-'n-roll bandKarmalatta is entitled From Me To You (Barking Spider Records (USA)SOS0004, 1999). The Philadelphia-based band is fronted by Beth Arnold (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and also includes Andy Burr (drums, percussion), Greg Beltz (bass) and Brian McCreery (guitar, keyboards, vocals).

The album is comprised of fourteen rocking tracks. Recommended to Musical Discoveries through links from the Second Story website, further information on the band is available at their website. Photos there demonstrate the band must be awesome to see and hear perform in a live setting.

A certain highlight from the band's debut album is the melody and lead vocal in the epic rocker "Understand?". We thought that the vocal and instrumentals were perfectly balanced; we most enjoyed Beth's soaring lead vocal part. "Three," "Jeans," and "Self Destructive" follow in a similarvein. The band is equally comfortable performing in a pop style. Songsinclude the upbeat "Twist of Fate," "Jeans" and slowly sung "Empty Town."Classic rock tracks include "Catch 22," "But Anyway," "Sick" and the punky "Shallow." The instrumental bridges clearly demonstrate the band's virtuosity. Vocals shine right through the instrumentals track after track with soft harmony layers adding texture.

We actually most enjoyed the slow track "Empty Town." A slowrocker, almost-ballad, it features Beth's soaring lead vocal with soft harmoniesadding to the overall sound. Instrumentals perfectly support the melody carried by the vocalist, sounding here most like Karen Bergquist from Over The Rhine (review). A high spot before the songconcludes illustrates the extent of Beth's range.

You can find further reviews and order From Me To You from amazon.com here. Beth Arnold's contribution to Karmalatta's sound is certainly worthyof further exploration. Worth checking out, we found the band's debut album a very nice listen!