Back to Romance

Following the success of Return to Romance and the Matt Catingub Orchestra's prominence in the realm of lush orchestral pop in Hawaii, Back to Romance provides something similar, but with a key addition. Here, the male stars of Hawaiian music are given a platform to sing love songs of their choosing, with the orchestra backing them up. The stars range across the spectrum from Robert Cazimero's classic vocals to the interplay of vocals and guitar of Hapa to the current breed — serious R&B crooning from Fiji, out-of-this-world ukulele from Jake Shimabukuro. The results are consistently strong. The orchestral backing, along with the songbook-style choices, can be a little over the top and almost corny in places, but the music is consistently top-notch nonetheless, and it's interesting to put the singers of Hawaii in a new environment — away from their traditional influences, they still shine with sheer musical ability. If you enjoyed the previous Catingub album, this one is a surefire win. Nonstandard in Hawaiian terms, overly standard in American pop terms, it holds itself with an unassuming grace, uncaring about the retro baggage and enamored with the simple sounds of the classic love song.