Ho'olohe (Listen)
One of Hawaiian music's great singers and guitarists, Martin Pahinui is a part of the legendary music family, headed by his father, Gabby Pahinui, which carries on the slack key guitar tradition. Whereas George Winston's Dancing Cat has heretofore focused on acoustic slack key guitar, Martin Pahinui's label debut features his voice and guitar as well as some slide guitar and backing players. Pahinui's gentle voice is as warm and mellow as a luau fire with yodeling falsetto jumps added for emphasis. The album's overall tone ranges from playful ("C-A-T, Pöpoki Spells Cat") to sad ("Lei No Ka' iulani"), with outside elements like country music making its presence felt ("Waikapü") as well. To the untrained ear, "Moloka’I Nui A Hina" is the strangest-sounding tune, seemingly influenced by barbershop quartets. OverallHo' Olohewill offer many an interesting new perspective on this music--whereas these different elements come out in the artists' live shows, the Dancing Cat albums tend to be adhere to a more studied aesthetic. Not so here!--Tad Hendrickson