Word has it that April Nevels, one-fourth of the increasingly popular gospel group, the Nevels Sisters, is preparing for the release of her first solo project, Krazy Praise, this Spring on 7-Places Indie Records.

Her single (the title track) is already going for adds at radio and is available for purchase at iTunes and at Amazon.com.  For your listening pleasure, I’ve added it to the PunditPlayer.  Click here to check it out, but do so QUICKLY.  Since it’s on sale, you’re gonna have to support it if you wanna keep hearing it.  Amen?!

I love April Nevels’ voice, but I’m not in love with the single just yet.  It’s kinda urban and I think I would’ve liked to hear her do something a little more jazzy and mellow to fit with her great tone.  The track is definitely growing on me, though!

And FYI– I spoke with a rep from her team and I can confirm that the Nevels Sisters are NOT breaking up… April will continue to record and perform with the group.  And I’m glad about that– they’re one of the most gifted new female groups we’ve seen in quite a while and they were just beginning to get a good momentum going with their singles “Clap Your Hands” and “Company.”  Keep going!

Okay, lemme know what you think of “Krazy Praise”!

The latest project from The Anointed Pace Sisters, titled Access Granted, is a collection of music that has utterly snatched my attention from among the other recent releases in my collection.  And I’d be remiss in my duties here if I didn’t urge you to check it out.

With more than masterful production from Alex Asaph Ward, the sisters provide tight and intricate vocal harmonies with powerful lead vocals on every track.  Recorded live recently in Atlanta, Access Granted captures an energy-packed experience well worth a purchase.

After opening with a brief musical overture of some of The Anointed Pace Sisters’ hits over the years (i.e., “Jesus Be A Fence” and “Safety Zone”), the album launches into the melodic “A Friend,” before settling at the beautiful worship ballad “Daily.”

The project moves seamlessly into “Finally,” a jazzy groove with a driving churchy vamp that transitions well into the next track, “Praise And Worship” (one of my personal favorites because of the complex harmonies and intense band hits).

Proving that the ladies can dominate in any genre, they lay their vocals to “Jesus Will (Do It Again),” a track prepped and primed for a traditional Sunday morning worship service, before sweetly finessing the inspiring “It’s My Time To Blessed.”  The album continues to impress through the end, with tracks like “Get In His Presence” and the hit single “If I Be Lifted Up.”

The greatest hurdle that I see the sisters having is one that has less to do with their music and more to do with their artistry– it’s one of branding.  With eight sisters in the group, consumers may have a difficult time connecting with any one of them and, as a result, with the sum of them.  It would be nice to know more about them as individuals, rather than simply as one group.  But as far as the music is concerned (and that’s what I’m actually reviewing here), you won’t want for much more than The Anointed Pace Sisters have given.

As a final note, I want to point out an obvious, but oft-undiscussed trend in our industry.  Gospel consumers don’t always seem willing to make room in the industry for multiple types of similar artists.  Such is the case as it relates to the concept of a group of sisters, with similar tones, who sing in unison, then split into harmony.  The average consumer might say “like the Clark Sisters do?”  But the reality is that we can’t allow any artist to have the corner market on a certain style of artistry, especially when God doesn’t dole out grace in limited portions.  As evidenced by the Clark Sisters, the Pace Sisters, the Nevels Sisters, and others, excellence abounds in our industry, in this particular style.  Let’s support all of ‘em.

*steps off of soapbox*

Buy the album.  You will adore it.  Click here to check it out.

YES YES YES!!!  This has made my Friday.

Okay, so a coupla weeks ago, I posted a clip of the Nevels Sisters performing “I’ve Got Company” at a church, but the sound and video quality wasn’t great.  If you recall, I said that they performed at a Bobby Jones Industry Retreat and DEMOLISHED it.

Well, I received a MySpace message from April Wade, one of the four incredible sisters, telling me that the Bobby Jones clip is on YouTube now!!!  So, though I typically don’t do it, I had to REPEAT this Goodies post.

PEOPLE, YOU MUST WATCH THIS.  Singing, dancing, I mean… they hold it down better than MANY established artists today.  The vocals alone are like , but their energy takes it to another level!

LOVE IT:

And click here to go to their MySpace page to BUY THIS ALBUM!!!  They’re no joke.

What did you think???

If you don’t know about these women, you are SOUND ASLEEP and you’ve gotta WAKE UP!

In the early days of GospelPundit.com, I posted something about them in the Check ‘Em Out series.  Click here to read it.  If you recall, there was a little back and forth about similarities between them and the Clark Sisters.  Lemme tell you… aside from Tye Tribbett, I haven’t seen anyone with as much energy as these four sisters!

My wife and I first saw them singing this song, “I’ve Got Company,” on an episode of the Bobby Jones Industry Retreat (on The Word Network).  We saved it on DVR and we watch it REGULARLY.  They are some SAAAANGIN’ women… oh my!  They’ve got the stamina AND vocal endurance of… like… Beyonce.  LoL

I couldn’t find that clip, but here they are singing the same song at a church.  It’s not the full song and the sound quality is not great, but you’ll get the idea.  For your musical reference, they’re saying “I’ve got company, following me” in the background.  Listen and love it:

So, I have to admit that I hadn’t heard much about the Nevels Sisters until I read a press release yesterday, announcing the release of their new album, Beautiful.  I thought it was a debut, but their bio indicates otherwise– they’ve been recording since 1984.  Turns out, they were the first winners of Gospel F.O.C.U.S., a nationwide gospel talent competition airing on The Word Network.  I didn’t have cable back then, so…

Anyway, a line in their bio caught my attention: “The four biological sisters are one of the hottest groups to hit Gospel in a long time.  Easily drawing strong comparisons to The Clark Sisters…”

I could see that.

But after listening to the album, produced by Tommie Walker (Fred Hammond, CeCe Winans), I believe the similarities are much more subtle than one might assume.  Sure, they’re four ladies who sing a lot in unison before breaking into unique harmonies.  But, the style of music is not Clark-esque.  They’re not really doing traditional gospel, or even modernized traditional gospel.  They’re more like an urban praise & worship– some of the songs have a sound that could easily translate to a Men of Standard, Virtue or Trinitee 5:7 album, in terms of style.

There’s no denying that these ladies are really good vocalists.  Both the lead vocals and background vocals display some great agility and even better color and tone.  I listened through snippets of each of the 17 tracks (good Lawd!), and enjoyed the song choices.  My faves: “Clap Your Hands,” a beat-laden praise & worship track kinda reminscent of the Clark Sisters’ “You Brought the Sunshine”; “Unbelievable,” just a good song of gratitude; ”I Wanna Bless You” and ”There’s Only One,” two songs that praise teams want to include in their repertoire.

All in all, I really like ‘em.  I wish I had seen or heard more about them before the day of their album’s release.  Many people probably don’t know much about them.  But if they don’t take off, that will be the reason; not because the album doesn’t deliver.

Check ‘em out!