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"Leave Tonight" is the name of the album of the Pirmasens born (and now living in L.A.) singer, Yasmin Tanriverdi. Together with her musical partner, the singer-songwriter Tom Caufield, she released a collection of twelve soft, mostly slow songs under the duo name "CAUFIELD," that appeared on the American market recently. Tanriverdi, born in 1979 started "at age 14 to take her music career seriously," says the artist. Performances for the Saarlaendischer Rundfunk (a German television and radio station), The Television network Sat 1, and getting multiple castings for the Pro-Sieben (TV) show "Popsars" (the German equal to ’American Idol’), as well as some guest performances with local bands paved the way to her solo career. In Tom Caufield, she found a talented musician, writer and singer that really knows and owns the genre of cuddle-pop (with a strong folk and country base) perfectly. The twelve songs are all - except the clearly slowed down version of the Springsteen song "The Ties That Bind," out of Tom Caufield’s quill. There is a tasteful, continuous low tempo and dynamic, ballad sound that puts Yasmin’s nice sounding alto voice and Tom’s soft baritone voice up front. Mostly harmony arranged, the voices are accompanied by piano and guitar, and here and there, some bass and drums. The atmosphere of the music always moves within the frame that lovebirds appreciate. The mood evokes evenings in front of the fireplace, of the witnessing of a not all too dramatic dusk...you can call that relaxed - or boring. Yet the album stays, for the duration of it’s 49 minutes, always listenable in every sense, and serves the life-is-perfect, cozy moment on the couch, in the car, or for dinner. The song’s contents always stay within borders that shouldn’t disturb the sensitive ears of average US listeners. "Tie the Knot," "Come To Me," "Leave Tonight," and "Aftermath," are examples. The last two, spontaneously bring deeper pendants of the Springsteen of "Born To Run" and the Dylan of "Visions Of Johanna" to mind. But not everybody that’s leaving wants to escape a death trap, and not everybody that looks out into the night hears the sound of the heater. Typical of its genre (by American classification - "Sophisticated Sounds/Adult Pop") - the duo stands on the shoulders of artists such as James Taylor and Carole King, as in "Why Do I Even Try To Understand." They also borrow from the likes of John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot or Jim Croce, learning from the harmonies, song structures, and clean-to-cheesy arrangements often employed by these artists. This is not meant as a criticism, as these pioneers set industry standards in the ’70s; standards that were also taken advantage of by a group of artists whom a list of would make up a who’s who of the famous in the business. The most recent example is the more country flavored collaboration, Emmylou Harris and Mark Knophler’s "All the Roadrunning." There, the production is more expensive, the artists have brand name status, and their personal styles are world known. In that sense, "Leave Tonight" fits in seamlessly, but risks the danger of drowning in the sea with similar releases. One wishes the duo would display a bit more guts, and a bit more of a taste for the unconventional, and here and there, a little more adrenaline, say, two leather boots instead of a pair of sheepskin slippers. Many debut albums lack these same qualities, for example, the first Wallflowers CD. "Leave Tonight" already sounds mature, but unfortunately lacks the spice of a remarkable, distinctive start.
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