Tina Dico, best known for her vocals on Zero 7’s first two albums, tries her hand at something a little jazzier and adult contemporary for her fifth (counting her imports) full- length release, Count to Ten. Dico’s first few discs blended some of the electronic, downtempo sounds she vocalized on Zero 7 material with her adult pop and jazz elements (most of which aren’t as apparent until you hear her live). However, Count to Ten takes this journey a little too far, creating something far less interesting than her previous releases, and while a worthwhile showcase of her amazing vocal talents, the music lies flat on the floor.
The title track starts the album with Dico’s vocals at their prime and a simple guitar riff incorporating a folk tempo into her sound until the piano crescendo creates one of the highlights on the disc. “On the Run” continues to show Dico’s talents, but with uninteresting lyrics and an even more boring chorus, the track begins the snooze portion of the album. “Open Wide” slows things down and drowns Dico’s vocals out with a choir, while “Night Cab” picks up the earlier folk influences, which somehow seem too disconnected from her voice to create a track worth mentioning. The middle of the disc seems to blend three tracks into one, none more interesting than the other (and all rather flat). “My Business” picks up the tempo with a guitar that complements Dico’s voice well enough to carry the back end of the disc. After another sleeper, “Everybody Knows,” brings Dico to the forefront with her voice as the main instrument complemented only by the music (the way someone with her talent should be), the album closes with the most musically interesting track (sans vocals), “Night Cab (Epilogue).”
While Count to Ten fails to secure and keep a listener’s interest throughout, it is clear that Dico has a sultry, passionate, and beautiful voice that shines at its best when it is the song’s main focus. However, an amazing, breathy vocal talent does not create a universal voice, and Dico’s attempts to mesh folk and adult pop genres fail to show off her real appeal and frequently create a disconnected feeling that is not awkward enough to be bad, but is just plain there.
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