Whenever releases new music, it’s a day to look forward to. Since 2016 the drummer and producer has been releasing forward thinking music, either as a part of MOBO winning jazz duo Binker and Moses or his own solo releases, growing into a musician of infinite poise and taste. His albums are meticulous. He doesn’t release anything until its right. In the six years since ‘Dark Exodus’ my expectation has grown. The early singles from hinted at a different sound, so to say I was intrigued is an understatement.
‘Precious’ kicks things off with fleeting horns, gospel organs and a feeling of joy and hope; then a gospel choir appears, disappears, and is stretched and skewed, before everything is stripped away and a full-on church organ kicks in. Having been raised Pentecostal, faith has always been in Boyd’s music, but never this explicit, or pronounced. Like his faith, jazz is always close at hand in Boyd’s music. Sonorous horns explode from the speakers, mixing with the choir again to create something new and exciting.
‘More To Life’ picks up the pace. The beat has a fantastic drum and bass vibe to it. Its frenetic and pulsing yet played live. Shantéh’s vocals euphoric soar, while the organ continues that church feel that permeates the album. On previous album Boyd lets the music do the talking, keeping it mostly instrumental. On ‘Songs for Sinners’ there are vocal spots from Raelle, Shantéh, Amber-Simone and rapper Chuck Strangers. These guest spots add an extra level of texture that has been missing on previous releases.
‘Say Yeah’ is the first banger on the album. Gospel choir, huge beat, iconic piano/keys (almost Italo in places) gives it an acid house vibe to it. Played live this has the capacity to go off BIG TIME! ‘Savour’ is a hint at Moses Boyd’s past. Effectively a drum solo with a looped choir vocal sample over it. It shows that Boyd hasn’t lost any of his chops and despite a newfound love of writing more conventional songs he’s very happy to go experimental and abstract when the mood takes him. ‘Praise’ is more reflective. The gospel overtones aren’t as pronounced, and everything has a late-night club vibe to it; pulsing beats and muted synths are the order of the day. The melody from ‘Say Yeah’ appears and reappears throughout. It’s throwbacks like this that makes ‘Songs for Sinners’ such a delight. ‘Guess I’ll Be Alright’ has a disco vibe to it with, almost, p-funk basslines popping off. ‘I Surrender’ is the standout track on the album. The music is wonky. Filled with diminishing loops, haunting melodies, dank rhythms and the verses from Chuck Stangers really elevate the song.
After a first listen I wasn’t blown away by ‘Songs For Sinners’. I felt it was a step back, certainly compared to his previous albums, and his releases with Binker Golding, but then I played it a few more times and it started to win me over. ‘Songs For Sinners’ is the most poppy album Boyd has released to date. It has more of a bounce than 2018’s ‘Displaced Diaspora’ and isn’t as challenging as 2020’s ‘Dark Matter’. It has more in common with the 2016 single ‘Rye Lane Shuffle’ but without the jazz. It feels like Boyd is using that fun and playfulness but making his music accessible for all, i.e. non-jazz heads, but without dumbing down his prodigious talent and eat for melody. There are times where the music feels timeless. It could have been made at any time in the last 50 years. Others are so precise and on curve of what’s happening in the not-to-distant future it hurts. This is what Boyd has always done. Looked to the past while looking to the future. It’s why his music always sounds good, despite the year.
‘Songs For Sinners’ is an album to devour again and again. And then again for fun. I know for a fact that ‘Saviour’ ‘Praise’ and ‘I Surrender’ will be featuring on mixtapes, playlists and radio shows for years to come. And hopefully you’ll be finding the same.
8/10