Liene Šomase is a young Latvian singer who is attempting to forge her own path. Also a saxophone player, she first became known in 2006 with her hit song “Ugunskurs.” Not long after that, she joined singer Jānis Moisejs to record the album Pasaule ir skaista, with music by Raimonds Pauls and lyrics by Guntars Račs.

The few songs that I have heard from that album seemed to be simple melodies, as can be expected from Pauls, but generally what one might call bubblegum pop music—sickly sweet flavor to start, but with a taste that quickly disappears. Šomase’s latest compact disc, 2008’s Vardos nepateiktais, takes a different road.

Besides being Šomase’s first solo album, the music on Vardos nepateiktais has more of a hard rock sound to it. Her MySpace page lists artists Faith Hill and Shania Twain as influences—women who have very successfully mixed a country music sound with a harder rock sound. According to the MySpace page, Šomase “sounds like” other female artists Natalie Imbruglia, Avril Lavigne, Pink and, very curiously, Madonna (that one I can’t see at all!).

Highlights of the album include the up-tempo opener, “Jauna diena,” as well as the song “Klauns (dzīve nav rožu lauks).”

The obligatory track in English, “Get Over It,” is a rather harsh break-up song, featuring lyrics like “If you get the urge to call me, you can call me history.” The poor guy must have messed up pretty bad to get this sort of treatment!

Šomase’s first hit, “Ugunskurs,” is also here. The song is certainly more in a šlāger vein than the other tracks, though certainly still catchy.

One needs only to look at the album liner notes to see that the cavalry has been called in to work on this album. Tracks have been penned by a number of heavyweight songwriters, including lyricist Račs, former Līvi guitarist Ainārs Virga, singer-songwriter Mārtiņš Freimanis of Tumsa, as well as singer Lauris Reiniks, former Double Faced Eels bassist Eduards Veinbrants and drummer Mārtiņš Miļevskis of group h2o, among many others. Performers on the album include Tomass Kleins (another former Līvi guitarist), keyboardist Zigfrīds Muktupāvels and guitarist Uģis Tirzītis (both of bet bet). The credits read like a who’s who of Latvian music.

With such a team behind it, one would expect the album to be quite good. And it is! Šomase’s voice works well with this type of music. The rock music gives her strong vocals a more natural and appropriate setting.

The CD comes with a largely forgettable DVD, with a few clips from her performances on the talent show “Dziedi ar zvaigzni.” They include rather ordinary talent show performances of songs like Randy Newman’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On” and Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5.” Of interest is the interpretation of the Līvi hard rock hit “Dzelzsgriezējs,” which switches from the hard rock original to a lounge interpretation.

Some may say that there isn’t much original on this CD, and, with the army of songwriters employed to make the record, it would be more of a surprise if the album wasn’t a hit. However, compared to a lot of the dreary and dull pop music that is currently being recorded in Latvia, this is significantly better. Certainly it will be interesting to find out if Šomase can develop her own songwriting talents (she has a partial credit on only one song, “Vai tu zini”). It might also be worthwhile to gather a set backing band. Many of the songs were recorded by completely different lineups.

All things considered, I quite enjoyed listening to this album. The songs are catchy and fun, and far more memorable than the ones on Pasaule ir skaista. The fact that many of the songs feature actual musicians (rather than computer programmers), with some songs even featuring real drums, is a big plus. Šomase has made a recording that stands apart from many of the other recent albums released by young singers and is well worth a listen!

In the discography of Latvian music, one of the most glaring omissions has been the availability in digital format of American group Trīs no Pārdaugavas’ albums.

With only Circeņu kāzās—the trio’s album of songs for children—available on compact disc, it seemed as though the rest of Trīs no Pārdaugavas’ classic albums would never make it onto the digital medium. Finally, nearly two decades after the trio’s final recordings, the complete catalogue has been released on an expansive three-CD set entitled Reiz dziedāja. Having these songs on CD, rather than old scratchy and banged up vinyl records, was worth the wait.

Trīs no Pārdaugavas—made up of New Jersey area singers and guitarists Felkiss “Liksis” Ērmanis, his son Mārtiņš Ērmanis, and Vilnis Baumanis—began its work in the late 1960s. Actively performing and recording up until the early 1990s, the trio released a total of six albums and two compilations that included new songs. Mārtiņš Ērmanis died in 2000 and Felikss Ērmanis in 2004.

Reiz dziedāja gathers the albums Trīs no Pārdaugavas, Zilā jūriņā, Dienu virpulī, Mīkstās mēbelēs and No tālām robežām, as well as the new songs released on the compilations Tēvzemei and Ar rozi un ar prievīti.

The collection is a testament to Trīs no Pārdaugavas’ talent, as well as the trio’s significance in the Latvian-American community. Along with the Čikāgas piecīši, Trīs no Pārdaugavas was one of the most visible, active and beloved Latvian-American groups. The trio even gave a concert in Rīga’s Mežaparks, attracting tens of thousands of listeners.

Why was the trio so beloved? I suppose the reasons include the band’s singing and harmonies (particularly Fēlikss’ resonating voice), Baumanis’ arrangements, and the original songs (with lyrics by Baumanis) that often were about Latvian life in the United States. Or, perhaps, they were just three regular guys who came together and brightened the lives of many listeners. The music certainly is not flashy, nor does it need to be. With just three voices and three guitars (and the occasional bass guitar, percussion and piano), they were able to produce many memorable songs and melodies.

One can trace the evolution of the ensemble through this collection. The trio’s first album, the self-titled Trīs no Pārdaugavas, has a more traditional feel to it in that many of the songs were old Latvian standards, such as “Lulu,” “Lakstīgalu naktī” and “Vēstule no tāluma.” There is also a heartbreaking rendition of the Latvian folk song “Jūras māte,” where the harmonies and the transition from major to minor give the song a particularly emotional feeling.

The influence of American culture was inescapable and can be heard on the trio’s recordings. Witness the songs from Zilā jūriņā, many of which feature an almost hippie influence to them, such as the Baumanis original “Mēs gribām rokās sadoties.” There is also the melancholy “Tauta tālumā,” another Baumanis original that laments the seemingly sad fate that awaits the Latvian people, both abroad and in Latvia—at that time still well under the thumb of the Soviet government.

I like that Trīs no Pārdaugavas did not take the easy route and play well-known Latvian standards. For example, you won’t find such tired songs as “Pie dzintara jūras” or “Še kur līgo priežu meži.” Instead, the trio performed long-forgotten classics such as “Labāk glāzes pilnas liesim,” originally by the pre-World War II Latvian group Brāļi Laivinieki, as well as the tender gem “Klusi klusi ratiņš rūc.” I also like the trio’s arrangements of other songs, to the point where I think the group’s versions are superior. A personal favorite is Trīs no Pārdaugavas’ version of Raimonds Pauls’ “Kamola tinēja,” originally performed by Imants Skrastiņs in a half-sung, half-spoken manner, but now transformed into a beautifully tender song.

During the 1980s, with Baumanis at full strength as a songwriter, the trio recorded a number of classics, such as “Ratiņš” and “Kaimiņš”.

The group’s recording career closed in the early 1990s, with Latvian independence almost in reach.  Songs again reflected the era—including “Šņāc un krāc,” “Pārkārtošanās” and “Latvijā – 1990,” which is about the trio’s experiences performing in Latvia in 1990.

The three CDs gather an impressive total of 70 songs. Included is a very informative booklet that has all the lyrics and also notes by Baumanis on many of the songs. Besides defining some of the Latvian-American jargon used in some of the songs—such as vīkends for weekend, pārtija for party, and kvadrātpieres for squareheads—Baumanis also clarifies some of the lyrics that may not make immediate sense to some listeners. For example, the song “Latvieši kopš seniem laikiem” mentions two Greeks, one of whom stole away with Jacqueline (a reference to shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis) and another who drinks wine in the White House (a reference to disgraced former U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew). If I were to find any fault with this collection, it would be that it would have been great to have even more notes from Baumanis on these songs. That would have made for some very fascinating reading.

Even though the trio played its last shows and recorded its last songs at the beginning of the 1990s, and even though two of the three members of the band are no longer with us, the group and its achievements are by no means forgotten. These timeless songs formed a significant part of the fabric of diaspora Latvian life. We are fortunate that Trīs no Pārdaugavas even existed, let alone performed and recorded. This is absolutely essential listening.

An up-and-coming band on the Latvian rock scene is S.I.L.S., which released its debut album, Stāsti patiesi un izdomāti, in 2008. The group was founded way back in 1999 and has had songs included on various Priekšnams alternative music collections, as well as performing at several of the Bildes festival concerts in Rīga.

The album’s distributor, Platforma Records, describes the band as “post grunge.” Although this is a vague label for music, it usually involves taking the distorted and fuzzy guitar of grunge music, as well as the often angst-filled lyrics, and adding more melodic elements. On its Web site, the band’s music is described as always having been “about pain, love and unfulfilled dreams.”

The name of S.I.L.S., though seeming to be an acronym, is cryptically described on the Web site as being related to viewing the approach of evening through a window in the Ķengarags region of Rīga.

The members of the band are Ģirts Strumpmanis on vocals and guitar, Kaspars Lastovskis on bass and Māris Ozoliņš on drums, with guest appearances by Ronalds Seleckis on guitar. Almost all of the music is written by Strumpmanis, and Strumpmanis and Seleckis wrote most of the lyrics.

The album begins with “Izpratne par skaistumu,” which alternates between melodic verses, with a cleaner guitar sound, and a more distorted chorus. I think the band is more effective when it focuses more on the melodic aspects in its song writing, such as on “Pavasaris,” which is probably my favourite song on the album. Another favorite is “Beigu dziesma,” another one of the band’s more melodic songs. Four songs on the album are in English: “Morning,” “Carousel,” “Trust” and the final “hidden track,” which on the S.I.L.S. Web site is called “DLS2.”

The music and lyrics are, overall, a bit on the dreary side, certainly bringing forward the angst that is heard in other such bands influenced by the grunge style. The main problem I have with the album is that many of the songs are very similar—particularly the alternation between the clean guitar sound and the distorted guitar sound.

The album was mixed and mastered by Gints Sola of Jauns mēness and Mielavs un pārcēlāji. The album art was provided by Otto Zitmanis, who worked on the cover for Prāta vētra’s latest album, Tur kaut kam ir jābūt.

On its Web site, the group has indicated that with the release of this album, band members will take 2009 off to concentrate on their side projects. Certainly S.I.L.S. has presented an accomplished debut album, exhibiting both musical and lyrical talents. Fans of grunge and post-grunge should take a listen.

For more on S.I.L.S., visit the band’s official Web site, www.grupasils.lv, its MySpace page or its page on the social network draugiem.lv.