It’s great after a day of reviewing mumbly, bedroom rappers and kids who still worship at the feet of Oasis to be presented with something a bit different, a bit original, a bit unexpected. And Momma Told Me So is all of those things. It has one foot in the past soul and r&b sound but it’s slow and sassy grooves also seem perfect for the modern age too.
It’s all groove, which is both out of step with the usual clinical, digital beats of modern pop, and is perhaps the perfect reminder of the fact that if you get the basics right the rest will fall into place. This is the sound of the basics being got right. And it is this sweet and sultry swagger which is perfect place to hang that slightly world weary voice, the staccato brass attacks, the sumptuous gospel harmonies that form the heart of the song. Drive this along with the most infectious yet minimalist rhythm section, functional yet sublimely subtle, and a heavenly horn break and you have everything you are ever going to need.
Sometimes the past can remind us what is important musically as we try to write the next chapter of the book of modern music. And that is exactly what is going on here.
[…] it is only natural that an artist such as Brian Charles Tischleder, who spent his formative years on those streets, felt the need to comment on this dark event. I […]