Monica McIntyre’s second albumIt Soon Cameis a departure from how she introduced herself. This album is stripped down to strings, the oboe, percussion, McIntyre’s singing, and her harmonies with her sister, Marcia McIntyre. Monica uses her cello in a way that lets the lyrics of her songs ride on. The songs’ strong choruses allow you to sing along after merely a verse, getting stuck it in your head for the rest of the day. Monica introduces this style with her rendition of “Wade in the Water,” the first track. The rest of the album is original compositions written by Monica. In the track, “Freedom Song,” she chants “Sing me a freedom song, all day and all night long, freedom, freedom, freedom.” The pulse found in that song, the desire and urge to hear, and sing songs of meaning, beats through the entire album. And that desire to hear those songs must have been one of the major inspirations for her to make this album. Throughout the album, motifs such as love, higher spirituality, and a connection with the earth arise. This is all done in a way that New Orleanians can relate to, such as when she sings “The Mississippi River, takes them all away, she takes all my blues away,” in the track, “River Mother.” You’ll catch yourself singing to the songs and walking to her cello after you hear It Soon Came.
