Quick digression from the thread to respond to the previous post: I agree!

Until now, the word “prolific” has never been used to describe Toni Childs.

It took her 15 years to release a follow-up album to 1994's "The Woman's Boat." Unfortunately, that follow-up album was quite poor. (The one great song on it, "Because You're Beautiful," won an Emmy. Hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtjUJxm-prI)

Fortunately, she seems to have rediscovered her muse because she’s just released two really good albums in rapid succession, both only available from her website. The first of the two albums, "Citizens of the Planet," may even be her best album.

It'll grab you right from the opener "Talk," which is one of her best- ever songs. That voice! I love the second track, "The Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary" and the way it builds faster and faster into a furious release and then resolves to calm again. Emotionally intense! I think the back half—tracks 8-12—is the best part of the album. Track 8, "What Do I Do About You?" is a straight-up classic Toni Childs ballad. (Here's the music video for it: https://vimeo.com/127594490.) Track 9, "We Won't Waste This Time" is one of my favorite Toni Childs songs ever and showcases how expressive her voice is. It's anthemic and I sing along to it. And the way that it segues seamlessly into the next track, "Urban Sprawl," which has a fantastic rhythmic vocal. Then there's the delicate and fragile emotions of "I Am, We Are." What an intimate song. The closer, "A Beautiful Life," would've been a great choice for a single. There's a moment during the second repeat of the chorus in which Toni's voice leaps up into a higher register and the effect is thrilling.

Toni's latest album, "It’s all a Beautiful Noise," is a change of sound, too—one that I think you’ll be pleased with. This is more of an electronic album and there’s a new emphasis on beats. The brooding opener, “Why Do Angels Fall?”, is classic Toni Childs. (Here's a live performance: https://vimeo.com/132504117) It’s followed by the brisk breakbeat “I Wanna Love You.” "It’s all a Beautiful Noise" is Toni’s most ethereal and atmospheric record thanks to pieces such as “Time Dreamer,” “Magdalene,” and “Fragile.” There are some long, almost proggy, songs that are 10 minutes long, too. “Hoping” features a very cool guitar motif that almost sounds as if she got The Edge in to the studio. I love the piano-driven simplicity of the midpoint track, “This is the Life We Lead,” one of the catchiest songs on the record.

You can hear the lengthy samples of the 10 tracks on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zitizenzofzeeplanet/sets/its-all-a-beautiful- noise-taster

Overall, I think "Citizens of the Planet" is a bit stronger than "It’s all a Beautiful Noise" as the former is more song based whereas this new record focuses more on sound and atmosphere. But this is a good album—one that gets better with each listen.