For those of you who haven't got over the fact that Prince doesn't party anymore, could switch out of 1999 and into Boom Shock with no problem. I know it's pretty dangerous ground to compare anybody to the "artist," but Sonik Boom of Love (Alexander East) is a worthy comparison.

Quite a departure from their last album, East switched from funky house/speed garage/europop/deep house to a plain R&B album. Were people disappointed? Yes. Was the album disliked? No. On the contrary Boom Shock is a Christian project that could jump start a new genre. Think of Al Green 2000. That's this album in a nutshell.

East penned great lyrics on this album, something the last album lacked, and shyed away from the instrumental feel. He gets down to the soul of soul and meshes it with techno to create ballads and breaks. Staying true to his tongue and cheek style of writing, he leaves his girlfriend for the One Love worth living for, "The Departure of U":

       Why must you try to change me
       My faith explains who I be
       You've been my love for so long
       But my love for Him is so much more strong.
       I've tried to keep up the game
       Of loving the both of you the same
       But U and I both know that of of U
       Has got to go.
       Now is that time for U and I to say 
       Goodbye.

Great dis--loved that line and the vibe it sent out. In comparison to the last album, the music was better on the first, but the vocals and lyrics dominate on the second. When this album is called R&B, don't think of radio R&B. This leans more towards the Techno side. To wrap it up, don't expect "Boom Shock" to reflect earlier projects, but at the same time don't pass it up. It's got too much funk to be ignored, and Alexander has too much talent to not be heard.

Justin Jones  3/5/2000