“Losing Hand,” is an excellent vocal with groove & cello which makes the song so original in light of the kind of music that this laid down as. All the songs from here on in are sophisticated & significant. Track 6 starts to open the CD like a tropical fruit. The groove is right, the timbre in Sunny’s voice suggests such a vocal approach.

By cut 5 “A Love So True,” I heard the possibility of the late Nina Simone covering such a song. The CD gets off to a slow start, but the quality is still present. Recorded in Venice Beach, CA she starts her CD with the gentle folky tale vivid & poignant on “Lucid Lucy,” that bellows low with a cello (Niall Taro Ferguson) & the more upbeat “Mama’s Milk,” with good acoustics (Sunny, joined by Aroyn Davis (bass), Paul Allen (drums) & Matt Demerritt (sax). Sunny covers everything from politics to romance but judging from the showcase she wisely keeps a lid on it & succeeds still in getting her message across. This particular collection isn’t fiery but on the surface the songs are well-recorded with a loose feeling which can be just as hard to achieve as recording something tight & fiery. Sunny always had a little more of a modern jazz-bent to her vocals crossed with the uniqueness of Valerie June, who’s a little more out there & the classic finesse on her intonations & phrasing of Lena Horne (that may be undetected by younger listeners).

I was always interested in her work because she reminded me of three female singers who I admire – Joan Armatrading, Tracy Chapman & Laura Burgo. I missed Sunny War a few times in the past because of other commitments but I’m glad I managed to listen to her latest 10-cut Simple Syrup (Drops March 27-Independent) this time around.

War of beach review