When I hear a song for the first time and can't wait for it to end just so that I can listen to it again, that's when I know that I've happened upon a hit. That is precisely how I felt when I heard the single "Hooked" by Andy Allo. The song is one of many from the Cameroon, West Africa-born and raised, Sacramento, Cali-based Allo whose highly-enjoyable debut album, UnFresh, has won the heated battle for my attention and ears.
The singer-songwriter calls her music "Alter.Hip.Soul," and after listening to the independently-released UnFresh that's an apropos description. Andy mixes urban alternative, hip hop and soul sounds together to create her own lane on this wide highway that is music. She sounds like Corinne Bailey Rae's cool younger sister.
The majority of her songs are about the ebb and flow of relationships and she approaches her music with a maturity that belies her 20 years. Andy Allo has been here before, but thankfully we get to enjoy her music in this lifetime. If you can take your eyes off of the gorgeous part-time model long enough to press play on "Hooked" and the album's title track below, I promise you won't be disappointed.
