Rating: NNN
Ramona Gonzalez has completely dumped all the woozy lo-fi trappings of her early work in favour of a glossy, sharply focused sound on her new Nite Jewel album. Her vibe has always had an element of 80s synth funk, but that aspect is no longer buried in the mix, making this her most accessible offering yet. There’s still a drifty, dreamy quality, but now it’s somewhere between Kate Bush and Sade rather than the off-kilter experimental pop she was known for.
One Second Of Love sees her shedding her more self-indulgent qualities in favour of tightly constructed songs, which is mostly a good thing. However, she may have gone a little too far toward conventional pop, and not all of it rings true. The slinky R&B groove of a song like Autograph is pleasurable enough, but Gonzalez isn’t really an athletic singer, and the performance feels lifeless as a result. The magic of the studio means she can construct a take that makes her sound like a real soul singer, but it shouldn’t feel like that’s what she did.
Top track: This Story
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