Nat Rose - Golden Hour
Golden Hour, the slick debut album from Nat Rose could, quite frankly, warm-up anybody's winter. Here in Aotearoa we tend to get swamped by loads of 'new soul' and R'n'B treacle from the slick production houses of urban America. What has saved our eyes and ears in recent years have been the earthy musical refreshments created by home-grown groove-makers such as Che Fu, TrinityRoots, The Opensouls and Fat Freddy's Drop. Nat Rose finds her own spot along this fully-coloured sound spectrum - with this rootsy, soulful and honest contribution.
This well crafted offering from Nat and talented friends drip feeds us softly spiced concoctions of vocals, horns, rhodes and even whale effects across some great tracks such as I.h.i.a.m., Reporua and Beautifully Deadly. Here the vocal parts are deftly arranged in singing of love, heartache and a much loved homeland.
Tidizha, the fifth track, finishes a strong set of songs before the album gives way to a flurry of playful short tracks and vocal snippets that disrupt the momentum before the final track takes hold and closes out the album.
I think that Golden Hour should most perfectly be repeat played on some long winter afternoons at home to warm ones spirits.
David
