If you watch NTV7 every Saturday mornings, you will see the cute talkative host for the morning cartoons. She is Sarimah Ibrahim. She has to her credit, acted in a movie "Puteri Impian 2" and was one of the hosts for the RIM Chart Show. Now she is adds to her list of talents as singer.

Her much awaited first album released under the Positive Tone label, is self-titled "Sarimah". Two of the songs in the album are from her singles, 'Now That You're Gone' and 'Kini Kau tiada'.

The first track 'Now That You're Gone' jumped at me, as I recognised it as the - "hey, it's that song from that cool video on TV!". I love that video as it has all the cool people in it and that stop-still photography technique is just absolutely fab! Oh yes, back to the song. 'Now That You're Gone' is the best track in the CD. Catchy and up beat. I liked it the minute I heard it but moving on to the Malay version of this track I can't say its gives the same feeling of joy though. Well nuff' said about that.

One noticeable fact is that many of the tracks such as "Dia" make use of non-conventional instruments. There is one that I believe uses a harpsichord. It's these little fine distinctions added to the music that catches the attention of the listener. In "Damai" and "It's Alright", it has sections with just the sounds of an acoustic guitar done in small doses, just enough to hold the interest of the listener and not enough to be distracting. These additions add character to the album as a whole.

I have to add something about the Malay tracks. Now, I'm not one that follows the local music scene closely and can only recall 3 singers who have made me sit up and listen. The others always seem to be crying, shrieking and shouting their songs about something or another. The melody used... well I don't want to elaborate. However I have to admit Sarimah definitely has something here. I found her Malay numbers catchy. I actually liked "Damai" a lot. After a while, I found myself humming to it, and let me tell you that this is very rare when it comes to Malay songs.

However, she may still need a little more maturity in voice and presentation. I also found her to be a little detached from the songs she singings. She needs to get "into" the song with more feeling. I suppose this happens when you have to sing a song over and over again.

What can be deduced is that with extra effort and indulgement in the next album, she can count on her fans liking her for more than just her 'Looks & Popularity' but by her 'Voice & Catchy Tracks'.

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