Multiply
It would not be an exaggeration to say that James Lidell’s the finest blue eyed soul singer in years, and thankfully he puts his pipes in service of the right stuff. Dude canseriouslysing–one minute he reminds you ofOtis, the nextSly, a brief detour throughMarvin, a seriousPrinceworkout, and then the dude goes and nails a great take onStevie’s style too. The production is really inventive and subtle. Songs like "Multiply" and "Game for Fools" start out sounding spot-on retro at first, but then little touches sneak into the mix later on that are decidedly modern – the crazy keyboard solo on the former and the drum programming and subtle vocal effects on the latter. What keeps Lidell from massive cheesiness a la Jamiroquai is evident on "The City," the only real link here to Lidell’s previous crazy-beats-heavy and effects-ladensolo albumand his work with Supercollider. Its inclusion here helps ground the album in the present, and along with the brief live clip included in the enhanced portion of the disc, it is clear Lidell is a major talent.–Mike McGonigal