Artist: Bittersweet Title: This Is Bittersweet Label: Self-Issued Web: thisisbittersweet.com.
By Michael Macey.

Bittersweet leans toward new school funk, soul and pop. Their sound falls somewhere between Joss Stone, Supreme Beings of Leisure and Edie Brickell. On This Is Bittersweet they present nine very well-crafted songs that highlight the vocal talents of lead singer Julie Cymek. Backed by Kevin Hill on guitars, Jaime Horrigan on bass and percussion, Ian Kennedy on acoustic guitar and vocals, and Eric Gorman on electric guitar, Cymek skillfully wraps her voice around the grooves provided by this group of first-rate musicians. Whether she's doing the breathy, sultry, hurt thing as she does on Pillow Away and Choose Me or the funky pop of Down, What You Don't Know and Inside, Cymek displays a range that elevates many of the songs to an emotional level. When she reaches that level, it's not so much what she sings, but how she sings it. A good example and a showcase for the band is the beautiful Choose Me, a torch song where you can feel the ache in Cymek's voice as she tries to convince a lover she's the one.
With a presence like Cymek's, it's easy to forget that Bittersweet is a collective. The band wrote the music and produced the CD as a unit. The songs are very well-written, with a nice sense of melody. The overall sound of the recording is superb. It has a live presence and a spatial quality that gives it a nice wide sound field.
I became aware of Bittersweet almost 2 years ago, when I did a short "be on the lookout" review of their Demo EP. It was only three songs, but I liked what I heard. I said it was "short but sweet" and was looking forward to hearing the full-length. I'm not disappointed. With This Is Bittersweet, they deliver a strong set of tunes that have mainstream appeal, while still keeping enough of an edge for the fringe market. Most of the songs are funky and upbeat, with a few slower ones that demonstrate their range and skill as songwriters.
This Is Bittersweet is one of those records that shouldn't fall through the cracks. If you like the female vocalists I used as a point of reference, there is a good chance you'll like This Is Bittersweet. While sure to draw comparisons, make no mistake about it, Bittersweet has a voice of its own.