Tini Grey

It's not hard to imagine that for Tini Grey, the son of acclaimed Polynesian crooner Jerome Grey, home equalled music. Reaching beyond his father's Island folk, while holding onto the vestiges of his previous R&B band, Reign, Grey tries his hand at crooning as a solo artist. Despite the title of his first full-length, Shades of Grey is colourful enough to keep your interest from start to finish. Soulful pop ballad "Wandering Love" and gentle acoustic serenade "Look at His Face" give way to more spirited cuts, like the Gospel-inspired "Raise Them Up" and the Island groove of "Company." Unfortunately, his lyrics are often mundane. Song after song, he rues lost relationships and broken commitments, extolling the saving power of a good woman. It's hard to tell if Grey's focus on the quest for hearth and home stems from childhood longing, regret or wishful thinking. But whatever those picket fences might mean to him, one thing's for sure: he wants them white, not some shade of slate.