Hyptonic:

Round about the early 70s' there was an ensemble, I can't remember the name of it, that played (ahem) mood music. Each track of each album (no CDs yet)  was full of lush strings that would turn a good brain into mush and occasionally featured sappy narrative. Each was built of a theme. A particular favorite was Highway One, which had titles like "Big Sur" and "Sausalito" and "Golden Gate"; you get the picture. I had lived in California for awhile and had all sorts of stories which were interesting if you'd lived in Ohio all of your life, and I was in law school, so if I could get a nubile wench into my quarters, tell her some stories, slap Highway One on the turntable, and, uh, bring out some recreational substances I was usually good to go, as long as the lady was of particular skill as to keep my stiffy from evaporating under the glare of the schmaltzy music.
Well, I thought for just a minute that we were back to those days when I popped open the mail and the Hyptonic CD fell out, what with the name of the CD being "when it rains" and lightning and stuff on the cover and titles like "Waterfolk" and "Moon and Stars" and "Space Love." All that evaporated, however, within the first few seconds of "Listen to Me, Listen" the CD's opening track. This is all good stuff, (almost) from beginning to end.
Hyptonic is just that, a hip tonic of many ingredients, with elements of jazz, Electronica ("Space Love,")  funk, and hiphop all mixed in quite nicely. There seem to be half a jillion members, who slip in and out of the proceedings, but the arrangements are never cluttered, as the players are pretty much limited in number to five or six per track. Every one of the players is competent at worst, killer at best, and keyboardist Scotty Vercoe, who leads this aggregation, with vocalist Lydia, does a super job of keeping things on track. Vercoe doesn't show a lot of flash, though he'll step out briefly once in awhile ("Wastin' My Time") just to show he can. He demonstrates, however, that what is not played is often as important as what is. Lydia, doesn't have a lot of range, but she doesn't need it. Her voice is so expressive, and fits the material so perfectly, that pyrotechnics are neither needed or wanted here. On that rare occasion when she does start to strain ("Down") Nate Quinn, alto sax player extraordinaire, jumps in and helps things along. And that's what a band, and a good musician in it, is supposed to do. There are also a couple of jazzy hiphop pieces with guest rappers (Bomshot on "Moon and Stars" and Chill on "Chill with Me") that permit Brian Verrochi to demonstrate his prowess on electric bass.
Hyptonic pretty much limits themselves to their home base of Boston, appearance-wise. IT might be worth a trip there if you're within a few hundred miles of that city just to check them out. In the meantime, check out "when it rains." This CD, and this band, are worthy of far more notice than they've received to date.  music-reviewer.com

It gets to the point where if you see the words “funk, jazz, and soul” in a band's press kit then you know to expect a mish-mash of world beat rhythms, painfully noodled guitar solos, and a bad conga player. But hey, sometimes you're wrong, you cynical critic, you. Hyptonic's release When it Rains… is all over the place in a very good way. Think of it like a highly rhythmic musical revue rather than scattershot showpiece. From the looks of things, Hyptonic is more a collective than a band, with a constant rotation of lead elements, be it Lydia Harrell's supremely smooth and impressive vocals, to Scotty Vercoe's equally impressive Fender Rhodes and piano stylings, to Nate Quinn's saxophone accents, Dan Ledger's flourishes on guitar, Brian Verrochi's rock steady bass, Chill's rapping…you get the point. The highlight of the album, hands down, is “Wastin' My Time”, where nearly all of the previously mentioned elements mesh perfectly. Pity the ex that gets his clocked cleaned by Harrell in that number. The beauty of Harrell's voice cannot be overstated, it's incredibly soulful without stealing the blueprints from previous greats. Hyptonic hasn't quite got the lyrical component as tight as the musical. Case in point; in “Down,” Harrell sings: “I look at the troubled world around me” and “I read about gangs and all the people rioting” followed by “Cuz boy you bring me up when I'm down.” Hmm, it's kind of like hearing a newspaper read aloud by a lover, which is perhaps the point. Minor kinks are quickly overshadowed by the rest of the album, though. Like the spacey closing of “When it Rains,” with Vercoe's out-of-tune upright piano accompanying Harrell's wordless crooning, like some ghost juke joint descending upon a rainy midnight. This experimental, atmospheric element of the band's sound sets it apart from many other “funk, jazz, soul” outfits. There's a real lesson here for those other bands: for the groove to mean anything, there have to be breaks where more innovative sound experiments can come through.

-Peter Hanlon, Northeast Performer 11/01

Mommy: "I'm in Love. This is amazing. I love the lead vocals. I love the harmonies and the arrangement of the song. I love the words and the attitude driving the words. This is sexy and subtle. Its girls becoming woman: so great. I haven't heard anything so compelling and mysterious for this type of song since "say a little prayer for you." And the music in the song is equally as impressive."