Feelin' Good

The first Nightmares on Wax album in five years is George Evelyn's most organic and band-oriented release. Beside longtime collaborator Robin Taylor-Firth, Evelyn is joined by a roster of seasoned studio veterans: drummer Wolfgang Haffner, bassist Paul Powell, percussionist Andrew "Shovell" Lovell, vocalist Mozez, and string arranger Sebastian Studnitzky. It's not as if the album were recorded with a strictly old-school method, however; a fair portion of the elements sound producer-driven, heavily manipulated. Stylistically, the album is characteristically diverse for a NoW release, with easy listening, reggae, dub, soul, funk, disco, hip-hop, and downtempo all in the bright mix. Amid some well-made but not particularly stimulating material, the more energetic tracks -- the squelching "Now Is the Time" and the echo-soaked throwback dancefloor groove "Tapestry," the latter of which is almost as gritty as a Theo Parrish "ugly edit" -- stick out the most and leave deeper impressions. There's also some decent retro-soul in the seemingly Curtis Mayfield-inspired "Give Thx," which has some structural and melodic likeness to "People Get Ready." Appropriately titled, the album exudes warmth. ~ Andy Kellman