Music Review//Huey and the New Yorkers - Say It To My Face

Huey Morgan wears many hats. You may know him an actor, a writer, a DJ and more pertinently to this piece a musician. As one of the Fun Lovin Criminals he entertains many an ear but Say It To My Face finds him going solo with the help of his New Yorkers. We took a listen and were feeling like this is very good move...

Huey Morgan is known for being cool yet straight to the point and on this debut solo album he's no different. There's some nice bass lines, funky lines and melodies aplenty and a cool unique to the man himself. His voice is as care free ever, with even the most urgent of lyrics going by as if their delivery was more important than the dramatics of the event. Frankly, we love it. 

The standout of the whole album is It's Alright, with it's chorus suggesting that whatever happens the singer will be 'alright', it's laid back musical approach funky but still waving aside any problem with a gravelly "it's alright". It's this laid back sound that makes this album so great and from it's first note it's no hurry to jump into a fast fingered solo or over play the emotional core of the melody. And that's the good thing about Huey's effortless style. 

Opener Stick It To The Man is a funky ode to placing the blame where it could quite possibly fit perfectly, to The Man and it's infectious as hell. Dirty Bird takes a similar model of cool riffs and funky backing and adds Huey's trademark semi-rapped vocals to make a fusion worthy of his Fun Lovin Criminals material.  There's also a softer side to the record to with the darkly seasonal Christmas By The Side of the Road potentially an antidote to the overly seasonal Christmas "anthems" we usually hear. New York Bluez also adds some darkness to the effortless cool of an album that impresses on many levels.

Reviewed by Sebastian Gahan. Released 29th October. 

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