CD Preview: Freshman Fifteen Welcome to the Paradise Lounge

Today, Northwestern University Freshman Fifteen is releasing its fifth studio album, Welcome to the Paradise Lounge. The A Cappella Blog was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at a handful of tracks, and it’s looking like a promising disc for collegiate a cappella aficionados looking for a new CD to carry them into the summer.

One of the things I like best about this CD was that the guys weren’t afraid to take chances with song selection. They showed their sensitive side with a really beautiful rendering of “Awake,” highlighted by a perfectly understated solo. They embraced the emotion of Macy Gray’s “I Try.” And then there was a really bold imagining of John Legend’s “Home.” It’s a popular song choice for all-male groups the last couple of years, and so, on first glance, not an inspired choice. When you hear it, though, you can’t help noticing just how fierce the arrangement and the soloist are, as the guys demonstrate no trepidation about making the song their own in this recording.

Another key to the disc’s success is a generally smooth sound that at the same time never comes as across as over-produced. The guys sound polished, but you scan still hear just enough of the texture of individual voices to know for sure that you’re listening to a collection of human voices rather than the synth-sound many groups are embracing in contemporary recordings.

All in all, Welcome to the Paradise Lounge is certainly worth a listen. You can purchase it at Freshman Fifteen’s official site. The album is also available on iTunes.

Track Listing:
01. “Dancing Machine”
02. “Falling for the First Time”
03. “Awake”
04. “I Try”
05. “Mary Poppins’ Birds
06. “By the Time”
07. “Home”
08. “I’ll Cover You”
09. “Just the Girl”
10. “A Change is Gonna Come”
11. “Sweet Dreams”
12. Alma Mater