Review Summary: Moonchild’s latest offering brings what is sure to be one of 2017’s smoothest albums.
“Voyager” could not have come at a more perfect time. With summer approaching comes those mild, slightly breezy yet perfectly content days that give a certain aura of warmth and comfort. The days spent chilling with friends you haven’t seen in awhile at a bar. The days spent driving with the windows rolled down while the sun’s orange hue slowly comes through the morning haze. The days of coming home from a rough shift at work just before a holiday starts. This is the image gathered right from the minimalistic artwork to the very opening chords of the album.
Moonchild are a jazz/R&B/dreamy-creamy neo soul band hailing from Los Angeles, California. They’ve had quite a small but dedicated following over the past few years, and with good reason. This is music for re-energising the soul, and as cliche as that may sound it comes across as nothing but genuine. The lyrical content may also seem quite generic with lines like “Love is the cure for heartache”, lyrics talking of unrequited love, love is the key etc. Something we’ve all heard a million times before. However the vocals, the instrumentation, the songwriting, the production, it all comes together to form a single coherent sound. A sound that is intensely hypnotising from start to finish. One can’t help but think of the jazz inspired instrumentation from Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” on songs such as; “Cure”, “Now and Then” and “Let You Go”. Or lounge kings Thievery Corporation on “The List”. That’s not to say “Voyager” doesn’t have its own identity. As previously said, vocalist Amber Navran adds another dimension to Moonchild’s sound. She knows how to make the vocals fit and a lot of these songs are carried by her subdued yet engaging performance. “Hideaway” is an example of her vocals being used more as another instrument to compliment the rest of the instrumentation, with the use of various ad-libs in the background from the 1:44 mark onwards. She doesn’t take the spotlight but instead adds another layer to the calm embrace of “Voyager”.
It’s not the most original sound put to record though, far from it. Those familiar with the works of Hiatus Kaiyote, Sade or Nujabes will feel right at home on the songs; “Run Away”. “Show The Way” and “6am” respectively. The album can become very samey and homogeneous as it goes along, especially during the middle where some of the weaker pieces such as “Doors Closed” reside. An interlude that doesn’t really serve much purpose on the album only to extend the runtime, and while pleasing as it is to the ears it feels like an unfinished idea that adds nothing of value to the album. Some filler can also be found in certain parts, such as the last 30 seconds of “Run Away”. Whilst the sample of the iconic “Wahoo!” from Super Mario Bros’ is well implemented it seems like a bit of a random add-on to a song that felt more natural fading out.
All in all “Voyager” is definitely an album that wears its influences on its sleeves and is not afraid to indulge in them, and though this may lead to a repetitive listening experience it's also an entrancing listen at the same time.
