Margo Rey's Bad Habit

MARGO (REY)

Habit

Organica Music Group

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Margo—aka/ Margo Rey, born Mararita Reymundo—has a fabulous voice. Alas, she’s not much of a singer. The Mexican-born singer wants to be a pop star in the worst way, and Habit suggests she’s succeeded. Though she’s 46, she sings with the breathless slightly nasal tones of dozens of other flavor-of-the-month “girly” Los Angeles studio singers that haunt the pop charts. Her material falls into that not-quite-R & B, not-quite-jazz, and not-quite-standard gray seam that showcases the voice, not the song. It’s the sort of look-at-me music I label diva-pop. There’s nothing inherently wrong with showcasing God-given talent, but the net effect of spotlighting vocal pyrotechnics at the expense of thoughtful interpretation is akin to watching a world-class athlete do calisthenics—you keep waiting for practice to end and the real performance to begin. By the time you’ve wended your way through the album’s 13 tracks, not a single one will stand out and Margo could have been singing about algorithms for all you’ll recall. In fact, I sort of wondered if the studio did employ algorithms during the production; the aptly named Habit uses every LA studio cliché imaginable—atmospheric guitar filler, cool-toned vibes, horn rhythm sections, vanilla bridges, and instrumentation that ascends and descends with the vocals. It’s too bad, because Margo has serious chops. I’d love to hear what she could do with a distinctive song and a demanding producer. Until that happens, toss this one in the same bin as all the other generic one-named divas—Beyonce, Brandy, Rihanna, Shakira—but toss it you should.—Rob Weir