aaamusic | On 11, Dec 2011

Smoove and Turrell are a sublime duo, and ‘Gabriel’ is a sublime single, taken from their sublime album ‘Eccentric Audio.’ These Geordies make haunting soul-pop music backed by understated hiphop beats – imagine the music of Adele, sung by a husky male, and propelled with quiet, Nightmares On Wax drum beats. Singer John Turrell has one of the most captivating voices I’ve come across for many moons, sounding warm but packing just enough of a jazz-bar edge. Just listen to the principle melody: it is pretty yet authoritative. Producer Smoove takes a bit of a backseat on ‘Grabriel,’ leaving his funky and house influences out of this simple piano ballad. All that can be heard of him – other than his retro soul production – is an easy-listening, rootsy backbone. Just beautiful. Obviously there have been a few too many soul-pop piano ballads since the appointment of Adele as musical overlord, but Smoove’s subtle contribution makes this one a worthwhile release. Check it out through Jalapeño Records on December 19^th.

Author: Clive Rozario