With over 40 years’ experience touring with the likes of Jools Holland, Alex Lloyd, and The Strides, Tam Morris and Alan Goodman of Lo Five recently combined for a collaboration that clearly exhibits the many talents and vast experience of the proficient pair.
With song titles such as “Funkulele” and “Wonky Tonk”, Singularity is a release that evidently blends modern soul with bouncy groove, and is a production of layered instrumentation that captures the enjoyable diversity of the soulful duo.
Weaving its way through progressive melodies of exotic depth and contemporary funk, the album explores numerous themes including technology, fame, and personal interaction, and even pays homage to the life and times of Amy Winehouse in the reggae inspired “Heavenly Ho”.
As a plucky dream-pop number reminiscent of The xx, “Moonwalking” is the album’s main pinnacle, while “Little Man”, featuring Estelle Brown and Portia Griffin of The Sweet Inspirations (Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley) is another impressive partnership that plainly illustrates the vast array of Lo Five’s inspiration.
While creative diversity is prioritised throughout the release, subtle yet restless genre skipping almost feeds a lack of continuity, while general direction is somewhat compromised by the pair’s fascination with blending untimely melodious variations, see: “Bad News Is Down”.
Despite these shortcomings however, and a certain inability to generate stand-out single tracks, debut album Singularity is an instrumentally compelling release that reaffirms the soulful talents of the Australian twosome.
