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Alli Rogers first came onto the scene as an artist in 2002 with a single, "Boxes," on Word Records' Pure Pop compilation. Unfortunately, when Word was bought by Time Warner, Alli was one of those artists lost in the shuffle. Looking back, this chain of events can be seen as a bit of a blessing, since as an indie artist, Alli was able to exercise more creative control over her debut CD. One of the ways she took more control over the album was by helping produce the project--a rare moment for a new artist--and by writing every song on Always Eden.

Remember how "Boxes" was all teen bubble gum pop sounding? Good, now throw that sound out the window because this CD sounds nothing like that song. That is one of the first impressions listeners will have with this album. Another impression many listeners will have is that something is missing on this project; when they look at the liner notes for the CD, they see exactly what is missing. Many of the songs feature only Alli on vocals and possibly acoustic guitar backed by acoustic guitar and percussion. Very few instruments are used on the whole album. The lack of instruments on this project creates a very stripped down, almost acoustic sound that makes this CD of the most unique sounding projects of recent memory. It also gives Rogers' voice a chance to shine, and shine it does. This CD is also helped by Bebo Norman stepping in to supply background vocals for "Eden" and "If I Ever."

This disc is one of those calming CDs that people will want to listen to when they are relaxing or enjoying a cup of coffee. The soothing feel of the project will be appealing to many listeners. While independent releases usually vary in quality, this one is top-of-the-line and should be in most people's collection.

The only thing that is working against this CD is its brevity. Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, this CD is one of the shortest this year. Despite its short length, this project is one of the best independent recordings of recent memory and easily one of the top 10 CDs of this year.

Burton Wray   August 12, 2004