Face Magazine
Volume 14, Issue 2 | February 2001

Local Reviews
By Paul Woodfin

this life will be mine
Abi Tapia

We try not to judge a book by it's cover but Abi Tapia definitely got our attention with the packaging of her new CD this life will be mine. In this limited edition (300) CD Tapia has produced a work that is pleasing both to hold and to listen to. Her self-assembled CD cover is simple and quirky - serrated "brown bag" liner notes with vague sepia-ish photos, a little glass star was attached to the front of the copy we received, and a button and string to close the cover - but the finished product conveys Abi's care for detail, the sensibility of a pro and speaks volumes of who she is. And so with the music contained within.

One is struck immediately by the simplicity. Simple arrangements. Simple melodies. Simple chord progressions. Put it all together and the effect is one of wit, power, polish and, yes, a beautiful simplicity. Tapia and producer/bass, Jeff Ciampa have focused on a cleanness throughout begging the listener to zero in on the stories Abi has to tell. Whether she's describing the exhaustion of unrequited giving and giving to a relationship, finally giving up, packing up her "Precious Things" and hitting the road, or in "I'm Not Listening" the duality of wanting to stay with a lover for the night, but needing to be convinced, to be seduced, or the metaphor of "Motion Sickness" for a need to escape a one-sided romance, Tapia's songs are laced with a sexual angst and tension that leave the listener wanting to tune in for the sequel to see how it all turns out. But then in "Chocolate" Abi sings I don't have a thing for chocolate I said but I have a thing for you/ so if I get distracted well just throw me in the ocean/ and feed me berries till I turn blue/ and baby everything will be fine/ and again this life will be mine. And one know that everything's gonna turn out fine.