Soul, jazz, and funk music have always been close sonic travelers as music has moved down the contemporary music timeline; all three, after all, sharing similar core elements – groove and seduction, grace and sophistication – and it is this easy association of those sibling genres that Just a Daydream, the debut EP from Amber, uses as its template.
And whilst her music draws on all these elements, the glue that holds everything together is a pop infectiousness; yes, there are a lot of clever songwriting chops to be found here, but most important of all is the fact that you warm to it, perhaps even fall hard for it, immediately. It is this balance of sonic smarts and effortless accessibility which forms her brilliant sound.
“St. Tropez” runs on a blend of soulful acoustica; it is spacious, seductively so, the guitar lines and chiming sonics doing little more than framing Amber’s vocals, a most welcoming way to be introduced to her sonic world.
“Obsession,” by contrast, is bluesy and big, wandering between understated verses and explosive choruses, the crescendos given even more momentum by the sonic distance between them; the result is a song that sits between a sassy big-band sound and modern blues-pop.
And if “Say What” feels like the sort of thing that should be hitting charts and radio play all over the pop world and “Find Love” is an upgrade and reimagination of the sort of song that made soul the undisputed sound of the seventies, “Aromatherapy” is the perfect ballad to play us out.
Debut EPs and first albums are not just introductions to new artists; they are a chance to make a great first impression. Consider me impressed! And then some…
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