Local spins

Karen Fay
‘Empiric Lyric’

On her 10-song debut disc, singer/ pianist Karen Fay seems to be an artist in search of an identity, and the result is a disjointed, uneven CD divided between ’80s-styled hard rockers in the mode of Quarterflash and singer/songwriter material in the “Tapestry”-era Carole King vein. While Fay is an effective rock vocalist, being a Pat Benetar-esque rock diva does not bring out the best in her songwriting, as the chunky “Don’t Know” and the Heart-like “Drivin’ ” tend to lapse into lyrical cliché. The dual piano ballads, “Love Is Here” and “Love Has Gone” and the pretty, fingerpicked acoustic ballad “Knowing What Love Is” work best here, allowing Fay to become the expressive singer her confessional lyrics require to connect with the listener. The “half and half” dichotomy weakens this disc as a whole. B-

Next show: No shows scheduled at this time.
Web site: www.karenfay.net

— by Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out

wahba
‘proskyno’

Local musician wahba may be the only Christian artist to hail his hosannas to the Lord, gift-wrapped in hip-shaking funk, blues and soul hymns. Rock ’n’ roll may have the reputation of being the devil’s music, but wahba uses the format as a showcase for his uplifting meditations on faith, redemption and forgiveness. Singing in a gritty, soulful baritone, wahba kicks things off with “Every Word,” a Stevie Wonder-meets-Stevie Ray Vaughn funk/blues rave-up, then glides into the disc’s finest track, the Motown-styled “Tug On My Heart,” which could have found a home on a Tempations record, circa 1966. With hints of influences from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to James Brown, wahba delivers faith-based lyrics in a souped-up musical offering that will please fans of alternative Christian rock. B

Next show: 7 p.m. Friday at Sweet Daddy’s, 911 W. Woodland Ave., Phoenix, . Free, all ages.
Web site: www.wahba.net

— by Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out