Tracklist
- Wise Women
- Too Much to Ask
- The Other Side
- Sweet Love
- Strength
- Everything I Need
- Money
- Nova
- Get to Know it
- What You're Doing
- Come Over
- Onto Me
- Whistling
- Still Wonder
I really gotta hand it to the Youtube algorithm for working extremely well in this specific instance. While scrolling through my Twitter feed, I found out that Anderson .Paak's rendition of "Old Town Road" was generating quite the buzz online. It was quite the wonderful mashup of Lil Nas X's surprise hit with Erykah Badu's "Window Seat" which breathed renewed vigour into a pretty run-of-the-mill song, almost turning it into a classic.
It took me a few days to tear myself away from that song and actually take a look at the adjacent recommendations list which included Moonchild's "What You're Doing". The video's thumbnail only had them silhouetted, so I really didn't know what to make of the group at the time. The song, however, turned out to be very catchy, and they actually turned out to be a Neo-Soul/R&B type group. Another surprise lay in store for me though: during the song, their artful silhouettes occasionally gave way to show the actual singers - 3 of the most soulful CAUCASIANS you could ever run across. This had to be the "Bobby Caldwell" moment for a new generation. In case you might not know it yet, Moonchild consists of 3 multi-instrumentalists: Amber Navran, Andris Mattson and Max Bryk, each being proficient in keyboards, brass (flute, sax, trumpets), and even some strings.
"What You're Doing" is a pretty good taster that highlights the group's R&B credentials, wedged somewhere between late 90s/Early 2000s. Amber's vocals beautifully sail through the song, part whispy, sincere and toned down.(If you ever want to see her echo Erykah Badu, you just might want to check out "Nobody" from Please Rewind).
On this, their 4th studio album, the band's R&B/Neo-Soul roots run through the 14 choice songs laid on track. They made the wonderful choice to have the whole album available on Youtube for everyone to sample. It would be more of an enjoyable experience with the older version of Youtube, but it makes for a jarring experience to be interrupted by ads every so often (how many times can Youtube spam me with the same ads for Safaricom, Grammarly and Colgate toothpaste? Good Lord!)
All the ads notwithstanding, it feels like there's something for everyone who is R&B inclined. First things first, I've got to get it off my chest that there's some Neo-Soul tracks on here that feel like they're done "For the culture". That's more of a personal gripe for me because I only gravitate towards some Neo-Soul music, but some servings whether they be from Musiq Soulchild, Dwele, Erykah Badu or D'Angelo will just seem a bit overwhelming. For me, those tracks on this album are "Wise Women", "Sweet Love", and "Everything I Need". I'll give the songs a whirl occasionally, but they aren't my go-to tracks.
"Too Much to Ask" is set to a simple sparse beat. Amber's toned vocals make the impassioned plea of the lyrics come alive. This is a lover pining for the better times from her relationship's past, ruing the fact that she's let someone in so close, but still hoping for better times ahead.
"The Other Side" has a sort of bluegrass-y lilt to it, and I'm guessing that's because Andris is playing ukulele on this track. This is another track calling for lovers to rekindle their love, focusing on the foundation already laid down instead of casting glances elsewhere.
"Strength" and "Get to Know it": the lyrics on these two songs currently confuse me. I love listening to Strength, but I can't exactly wrap my mind around what she's talking about. An educated guess would be that she's gathering her strength to pick herself out of the doldrums in a relationship. (Guess I'll be searching for Amber's explanation for the lyrics).
"Money" is a gem of a track that just aims to uplift. Initially, I thought it was Amber's way of showing encouragement to a lover, but on a wider scope it can be applied to everyone from a lover to family to friends. She understands the stresses the person is going through from the weight of expectations and the need to act like they don't need any help; but through it all, she'd bet money on that person and hopes they'd believe in themselves the way she does.
"Nova" is Max Bryk's personal contribution. Clocking in at a paltry 1:05, this can truly be classified as an interlude. However, this is no throw-away cut, but rather a fully realized "New-Jack" head-bobber. I usually give it multiple listens before moving on with the playlist. From the first time I listened to it, I was pretty sure that a nice rap section could be added to it to give it even more juice; and I'm pretty sure that the best person for the job would be none other than "Gift of Gab".
"Come Over" is classic old school R&B. Over a simple catchy beat, Amber plays a seductress/lover-in-waiting who's been afforded the chance to holler at a love interest (who might recently just have become single). She might not be very good at the art of seduction, but at least she's giving it a try, hoping the guy meets her halfway.
"Onto Me" reiterates the same theme from Come Over, but from a different angle; this time it's that of friends who have each other's backs, but want to escalate things to the next level...at least she wants it that way.
I think I'd had a long day at work, such that when I listened to this album the first time I did not get past "Onto Me", which of course turned out to be a big mistake. Just like on their previous Voyager album, Little Ghost's final bookend consists of 2 of the strongest songs on this album. First off, we have "Whistling", which immediately reminded me of Ludwig Göransonn's Grip (from the Creed soundtrack). I believe it's because it's from the same "Trip hop" genre (quite the bit of eclecticism). Clocking in at a mere 2:47, it really is a prime example of short-and-sweet. It focuses on someone who's basically had it; no more time to wait for apologies and is ready to hit the road. Didn't quite think someone could make throwing in the towel sound so nice.
I had that song on repeat for the longest time before I finally moved onto the crowning moment of the whole album: "Still Wonder". There's something magical about the odd time signature of this song that just crept up on me. As soon as I heard it, it felt like an old-school mash up of New Edition*The Gap Band. It has the puppy love nostalgia of Bobby Brown's "Girlfriend", and the subject matter follows a similar vein. Amber croons about all the things she saw in her lover before they even got together, and the love she continues to receive; the chorus then echoes the same sentiment by rhetorically questioning "and you still wonder how I fell for you." To cap off an already great song, they lead us out with a beautiful instrumental section by Max and Andris on the keys; they then enhance the song with aural perfection by adding a small strings section courtesy of Quartet 405 for the last 2 measures.
The album mostly soars above the rest, and definitely lights up the 2019 R&B scene. Good to see some back-to-basics R&B that is a breath of fresh air. Where the album is exquisite, it soars; and even where it lags, it's still a cut above the rest. I wholeheartedly recommend that you give this album a whirl and sample the beauty of Moonchild's hard work.
Definitely gets an A- from me.
God Bless
