RIYL: Roseline, Justin Roth, The Skygreen Leopards, SweetLou
Its understandable if you thought Robin Thicke had cornered the market in white soul music, even if the actual existence of a market in white soul singers is questionable. Turns out, Wikipedia boasts a surprisingly long list of “Blue-eyed soul singers”, preceded by the helpful disclaimer that “the artist is not required to have blue eyes, only be a white singer who has made music that credibly fits into the traditionally-black world of R&B, hip-hop, and/or soul.” Glad we cleared that up. Still, with such questionable entries as John Mayer and Adam Levine, its hard to see how British singer songwriter Nick Howard hasnt yet made it into the rarefied company of this list.
Howards’ 2006 LP “A Rip in the Sky” is loaded with neo soul grooves, boom boom bass line lines and high octave crooning, and while the material isn’t necessarily top-tier, all the elements are here to make for an engaging listen at times. For the uninitiated, “Rip in the Sky” would most easily be described as “baby-making” music, although if one judges by the mostly G-rated lyrics, a more accurate description of these tracks would be courting music.
The album starts strong with “Miss Music”, a lighthearted number that gives Howard the chance to show off his Justin Timberlake-esque falsetto over nice beats and a gentle R&B melody. The track boasts a nice hook-filled chorus and Howard pens some interesting lyrics portraying music as a woman abused, claiming “They bend your shape/ To fit their gain without a care/ …When I hear their songs/ It sounds just like you weren’t there.”
Hot on its tails comes “Look Up”, a slightly darker groove with a smooth melody and “Little Morning” is another keeper, although the spoken word interlude on this and a few other songs certainly wouldn’t be missed.
Although these offers are earnest enough, since releasing “Rip in the Sky”, Howard has wisely moved into more mainstream territory and increased the quality of his production, landing some impressive spots opening for acts such as Gavin DeGraw, Lifehouse, Jack Johnson, and Counting Crows. New listeners would be best served by checking out his acclaimed 2008 album “Something To Talk About” or monitoring his MySpace page for teasers from his forthcoming LP “’When the Lights Go Up”.
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For More Information Visit:
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http://www.myspace.com/nickhowardmusic
http://www.beliefandhustle.com
