The album All I See by the JMU BluesTones is a tale of two city lives: one that is very sophisticated and groove-laden with a party atmosphere made up of some really danceable tracks and a few sultry ones thrown in for good measure. The other is very scrappy and earnest-filled, but the polish just isn't there to make it a place that you'd want to visit more than once.

The major issue that I'm having with the recording focuses on the latter city in that a lot of the arrangements are a bit pedestrian compared to what I think would benefit the musicians in the group. There are a lot of square passages that should have much more of a syncopation or ebb and flow than the recording allows, like the bassline for The Boy Is Mine. It is literally stuck in an unrelenting 4/4 downbeat that is unnerving. The simple drumming patterns don't help a lot on most of these songs as it comes across as "boots and cats" than a more established palette.

And sometimes it even comes down to syllable choice. One of my favorite songs in the world is the duet between Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand (or Tina Arena, or Ariana Grande, or Westlife...) that goes by No More Tears or Enough is Enough. So, I was overjoyed to see that as the first track of this album. The introduction is pretty amazing overall, there are some witty running passages and great cheeky elements offered up by arranger Nick Gomez-Colon, but the execution leaves a cringe though as the top soprano line gets a bit chorally. But why oh why was the decision made to make the background sing a long /i/ sound when it should have been a /ə/ on the repeated "enough"s? That decision changed it from a disco anthem to a show choir knock-off and made it very difficult for me to listen to the rest of the track because I was so caught off guard. And I really hate that because there are sections that I keep repeating because they are so effortlessly executed. Oh, this should have been their track of the year.

The best song on the album that wins that accolade, though, is Love So Soft, but even it is marred in the middle. There is an unneeded key change near the bridge that just strips the track of all the grit for that briefest of seconds. Ani Dykes absolutely crushes this Kelly Clarkson track, but that key change should not have spun on her note slide, because it isn't a wider reach on the scale; the dynamic power that it should have caused just didn't occur. I wish it would have opened the album because it is much better than No More Tears as both a banger and more cohesive track. It's getting a "5" but slightly begrudgingly. And Traumatized flows nicely from this song to sort of reset the entire album for me. I freaking love the background spoken part: "I may not get it together, to get to your get-together". I felt that in my core the first time I parsed it out. Kudos.

I am reluctant to add this because it really is all about taste and not technical skills. There are a lot of intonation problems on most of the soloists on this album. I don't generally go for strident nasality in a performer's tonality. It adds a sense of strife and strain that I don't think is intentional. This push also makes breath support difficult in certain sections when longer passages are called for. What is interesting is when it works for the song because I could listen to Kameron Washington-Brown and Kylene Zrenda sing The Boy Is Mine all damn day long. It is as reminiscent of Brandy and Monica as it is Mercedes and Santana or The Loreleis. Again, just my druthers but that particular sound quality does detract from my overall enjoyment of All I See.

While it may seem like I'm panning the album, I'm not. I genuinely enjoy listening to most of the songs. I had to sit with it for a while because the parts that really grated my critical ear overtook everything else. It's not a bad album. The general musicianship that the group is known for is present on each track, but on each track there is something that blocks it from being a stellar performance for me. On another day, my ears and brain might feel differently, but today I am wanting to visit a town with a lot more bright and vivid colors than what's on display for All I See.

The BluesTones deliver largely artful pop on All I See, with big solo voices who know how to perform.

If you want a listener to take in the full album, first and final impressions matter, even in the era of Spotify. So let's start there. Hearing the shrill and tinny upper register sounds coating No More Tears had me holding my breath; is this how it's going to be for the release? Is this the new tone and vibe for the group? I didn't relax until the absolute wallop of the POP DISCO SOUNDSCAPE drops in hot, all-caps for Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand in 2024. Enough is Enough indeed. So how, then, do we journey to and conclude on the side-stepping, toe-touching slow melancholy of Blue? The hypnotic runs from lead Mary Kate Connor are awesome. The refrain of "All I see" provides the fabulous album title. But my confusion remains: why is a clear Track Three closing out a release?

Let's move on. It's hard to out-sing a BluesTones lead. See if you have any paid time off before you listen to Keep Lying. Alexia Van Slyke has ice in her blood and apparently hot glued herself together to rise and make a statement. Ani Dykes is a vessel of command and confidence for Kelly Clarkson's Love So Soft. And the flair and technical precision on display from Abby Camp on Greedy should make anyone jealous.

Arrangements are solid but unremarkable. There's really no "big moment" piece. There's also a lack of big moments within each piece on All I See; we get some builds and turns, but outside of the disco party, nothing as aurally contrasting. Mad At You from arranger Pete Berman feels like the most complete, successful work in this respect, thanks to production from James Gammon that amplifies the arrangement to a dazzling shimmer. It sounds big and important, and it is. The opening three pieces list Nick Gomez-Colon as the arranger, a mini set that clicks together pretty well. Mostly, I was hoping for something different with Girl Crush, which is much prettier and peppier than the stop-everything devastation that Little Big Town delivers.

RARB writers often point out incomplete or inaccurate album credits. We don't want to; it's annoying for us to research and annoying for the group to hear about it, but the songwriter fields in particular need to be accurate and they aren't on the group's submission form. This gives credit where credit is due, and in the sometimes litigious world of Song Covers Land, also offers protection. And in a wild administrative error I've not happened across before, if "Brandy & Monica" truly arranged That Boy Is Mine for the BluesTones, someone better let me know about their connections.

We can't get it all. The musicianship is here, and the production remains on point. I wouldn't mind a few more exceptional arrangements that stretch these musicians to outdo themselves creatively and technically.

The BluesTones do what they do exceptionally well and exceptionally consistently: I feel like I've opened their last four album reviews with a comment about what a lovely job this group does covering predominantly contemporary female-fronted pop songs. Even more so, these songs fit the group's vibe — too often, treble groups just go with belting solo after belting solo, and the BluesTones's song selection has the right amount of energy and attitude for the sound that the group has.

There are some great performances here — both The Boy Is Mine and Girl Crush are compelling listens in their own way, and my only real complaint about either song is that tracking them one right after the other on All I See doesn't flow smoothly. (Small problem in the era of streaming, shuffle, and playlists, but for those who listen to albums in track order, it's an abrupt transition.) No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) is a fun and spunky way to kick off the album, and Change Your Mind followed by the lilting Blue give a nice sultry ending to the album — and bonus points for Blue giving a nod to the group's name, making this closing song choice even more nuanced.

Soloists are solid, as always: in particular, the duo of Sara Arnold and Anna Freeman on Mad At You sound like absolute butter on this song, and Alexia Van Slyke nails the sultry yet disinterested vibe on Keep Lying.

Not every song here is a home run — both Love So Soft and Keep Lying get a little bit repetitive, and either the mixing or the recording of Greedy doesn't give enough of the low end, so the song feels a little too top-heavy. Still, those may be minor quibbles for a group whose sound is so solid and reliable: the BluesTones is a group that knows its membership and sound well enough to know exactly what they're capable of, and they don't try to make themselves into something they're not. All I See shows a group that knows itself exceptionally well, and that's what makes this album such a solid and delightful listen.