A.J MOORE —HARMONICS (FCL Recordings)

[Maurice Hope]

http://ajmooremusic.com

 

Guitarist A. J Moore’s combination of pop, rock, blues and jazz makes for a varied and on occasions dynamic listen, that is between reflective ode ‘Dreaming’ and the impassioned ‘Hypnotise’ to go with the slightly funky, groove orientated ‘Just Like That’.

 

Moore’s classical training, he has played with the likes of New Zealand cross-over classical singer, Hayley Westenra, English soprano Laura Wright, young English tenor Jonathan Ansell, Lee Mead and Faryl Smith has seen him gain both a great appreciation and understanding of a number of musical genres. Plus he has an effortless singing voice.

 

To a large degree he plays most of the instruments in part (piano, synths, drums and bass) to go with all guitar entries, and there is few better examples of his grasp of a diverse range of styles than on the soul piece ‘You Want Me’. That possesses an infectious constant beat, vocal harmonies and strong vocals. His worth in the department is underlined ten-fold on the impassioned pledge of affection ‘A Little More Time’ while ‘How Do You Know’ produces some exquisite guitar and a neat little rhythms to make it arguably, the most appealing track on the album. It isn’t without peers either as you have the excellent ‘Do You Like What You See? I so love the opening, and if it had lasted longer the song would have been the better for it plus, there is album closer ‘Time And Again’. Which has A.J show off his worth on electric guitar. Though excellent I am of the opinion of there are occasions and this is one where ‘less’ would have often meant more on this Moore's debut album. Good though the efforts are from jazz musician Jan Kincaid (drums), Al Gurr (bass, piano, synths), Bryony James (cello), G. Harding-Moore (backing vocals) among others.  

 

                                                         Maurice Hope