Teri Tobin | So Good To Me

Teri Tobin
So Good to Me
(Sol to Kep Ent.)
By Peggy Oliver

Despite one’s musical training throughout childhood and college, one earmark of a credible artist is digging into their lifelong experiences and translating those special stories to effectively communicate with their audiences. Those persistent and driven talents refuse to be weighed down by musical trends or record sales in dictating their artistry and achievements. This certainly works in favor of independent artists who are simply doing it for the love of their craft. As a classically trained singer from Howard University, Teri Tobin declares herself a soul stylist without apprehension and is a staunch supporter of the independent music community. Always thriving on connecting with her audiences on a deeply personal level, the Arizona native invests her rich dexterous voice with every note about the daily complexities of love.

Tobin stayed the course by paying her obligatory dues of demos and background work (Jeffrey Osborne, Coolio) to reach her unique independent stage. The career payoff came through developing the music company Sol 2 Kep Entertainment, which strives to keep the art of fundamental soul music alive. Her debut CD from 2011, Love Infinity – a reflection on Tobin’s perspective of love – was well received amongst radio stations across the U.S. and Europe, including the single “Free.” Later in the year came Christmas Child, a 5-song EP celebrating the season, featured an acoustic reggae-fied, “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

Tobin’s latest project, So Good to Me, extends upon Love Infinity with lyrical insights on sexuality, spirituality, pain and affirmation. She is guided by a team of underground urban producers that provide an intriguing soundtrack of neo-soul and R&B doused with old-school sensibility and occasionally shifting into jazz texturing. There is a fairly steady diet of thick and juicy grooves beginning with “Believe That,” about resisting changing a partner just to satisfy one’s self: “I can’t make you be something that you do not want to be.” “Some Kind of Way” finds Tobin’s sensuous voice locked in an irresistible physical attraction decorated with sweet guitar strokes and keyboard drops driven by pulsating drum tracks. “Love’s Gotta Hold on Me” is another entrancing vocal journey into the love’s ecstasy zone. The thrill of being accepted by one’s lover is depicted in “Love Me.” Then there’s life-long commitment on “4 Ever 4 Always,” a very colorful, heavenly canvas accented by vibraharp and glittering guitars. The debut single that is the title track “So Good To Me” is a stripped-down ballad that flows with an extremely elegant duet by Tobin and Morris Alan. Love also comes in heartbreak form as demonstrated with “Too Late for Sorry,” a devastating and highly emotional tale of a relationship gone sour. Though the mood is intense, the soft orchestration depicts tears one cries through percussion drips and piano sprinkles. “Rain on Me” is a solid example of how worship can venture into a smooth jazz atmosphere: “I can’t do this alone.”

Teri Tobin absolutely subscribes in keeping the soul music flame alive with So Good to Me. Her effortless ability to invest her music with substance and soul – no matter the topic – is simply priceless.

Four and three-quarter stars out of five.

Peggy Oliver
The Urban Music Scene