Merna: The Calling

Palestinian-born and Toronto-based singer-songwriter Merna (formerly known as Ayah) lives at the intersection of Lorde Boulevard and Adele Avenue, which runs parallel to Nelly Furtado Street. That is to say that she’s about as mainstream radio-friendly pop as it comes. However, Merna shows on her new LP, The Calling, that she’s a talent to be reckoned with. Merna, who is classically trained on piano, infuses the record with African and Arabian sounds, and that makes her a cut above many of her peers. She also reaches out to comic book nerds on “Intervention (SuperMan)”, where she sighs, “You can be my Superman, Superman / I’ll be your Lois Lane.” There’s an awful lot to like about this album, as a result, but how much you actually like it will hinge on whether you listen to Top 40 radio. Part of the record’s allure is that Merna balances club bangers with soft piano ballads. Granted, the only beef I have with the LP is that there’s one too many ballads, particularly when you get to the last third of the set, which features one ballad after another.

Still, The Calling is a natural, urm, calling card for this act. It turns out that “All I Want (I Wonder)”, which, yes, is a ballad, was reportedly inspired by Andre 3000 of OutKast. The album was also executive produced by Ali Shaheed Muhammad whose credits include A Tribe Called Quest and Lucy Pearl. You get the impression that The Calling is meant to be a sonic breakthrough, to get Merna in front of as many ears as possible. That’s not a bad thing, but, again, whether or not you’ll enjoy this has to do with your impression of today’s female pop stars. In that sense, there’s not too much that distinguishes Merna from the pack, but, dang, she knows her way around a good song now and then. It’s the sort of thing you wouldn’t tire of if you were sitting in the dentist’s or doctor’s office listening to this while waiting to get poked and prodded (in your mouth or otherwise). Basically, for fans of mainstream pop, Merna more than fits the bill. She has a trilling range of voice (no surprise to learn that she was in a rock band in Abu Dhabi before eventually moving to North America) and her songs are in the top drawer of the dresser. The Calling, then, is a callout to an impressive and crucial female artist who aptly puts the pop in modern day pop music.