I’ve said it before, though not necessarily with these specific words: Sometimes you don’t know what you need until a slinky melody springs from the speakers. Such has been the case this week with British soulstress Natalie Duncan’s latest long player, Black Moon. The jazz-imbued groove of “5th Dimension,” the lead-off track, is buttery smooth yet thankfully sans the saturated fats that negatively impact the heart; the same holds true for the songs that follow. Electronica flourishes, hip-hop elements, and the gentle whoosh of keyboards flow from start to end, with the result somehow reminiscent of the soul music of the mid- and late 1970s. About the only thing missing is a duet with Donny Hathaway.
Throughout, her lyrics delve into love, loss, self-recriminations and self-doubt, plus the magic and majesty of music. As she explained on Instagram, “I’ve lived with these songs for some time now. From ‘Bad Side Of Love’, written 5 years ago – my final closing of the door on toxic relationships, to ‘Silk Road’ the most recent song, defining my love of synthesisers and unnecessary key changes mid verse lol.” She handles vocals, of course, as well as keyboards, and is backed in the home recordings by such friends as Charlie Allen (guitar), Dave Browning (drums), Alan Mian (bass) and Richard Spaven (drums).
Rather than turn this into a wordy track-by-track recap that few will read, I’ll condense my thoughts thusly: Duncan’s jazz-imbued musings provide a welcome relief from the craziness that pockmarks life of late. I’ve found myself grooving to Black Moon again and again since its release on Monday, at any rate. It plays well in the car, kitchen and here at my desk, effortlessly lifting the tensions of the moment. A part of me wants to conclude with a quip that borrows the line from “Silk Road” in which she sings of being stuck in a time-lapse, but in truth the album is more of a paradox in a box: It simultaneously sounds old and new.
(The album is available to stream from all the usual suspects, plus can be purchased on LP from Bandcamp.)
The Old Grey Cat 