Dutch Double Bill 2: A B C ... Easy As 1 2 3

Nicolay's reputation is now such that, among those in the know, when his name is atached to a project the antixipation jumps 3 fold, if not more. When i first heard The 1st single from the album (also titled) ABC Of Romance, I was expecting a smooth easy debut from Moon Baker. And that is what was delivered. At almost a year old this album somehow got through my radar undetected. Released in Holland & Japan initially, it was well worth the find. Theres a edgy, rock vibe to Moons voice (think Nikka Costa or Pink) & Nicolay is quick to highlight this with Shot Deep. Mild Rock guitar riffs & lively horns over a edged drum pattern kick things off well. The vibe then takes a complete u-turn on The Light. The downtempo Smooth Jazz vibe works well with the vocals, especially when Moon starts to really belt out the notes. From here we hit the club with the mid tempo step of Body. From here the head nod of You Are will remind a few peeps of Mary J. when Hip Hop RnB was flying. This is an album of ever changing vibes & n o song is accompanied on either side by a similar track. Listening to tracks 8, 9 & 10, You go from the lovely understated smothness of the title track, to the full on jazz, vocal samples & deeper subject matter of God's Only Crusade, to the spacey keyboards of Stay. Yet it all sounds so cohesive. You could say that the album covers every conceivable version of smooth & the fact it's Nicolay predominantly behind the boards makes that a positive. It's also refreshing to hear a vocalist of Moon's ability challenge subject matter other than love & relationships. A real nice debut all in all with the rock element on some of the tracks bringing someting different to proceedings (Caught Up In C-Minor Blues). Nicolay can only enhance that already superb rep.

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Moon Baker - ABC Of Romance selection

Moon Baker - ABC Of Romance Remix ft. Kay

Moon Bakers Myspace