Neo Soul? Trip Soul? Soul Hop? No idea what to call Goapeles sound but whatever it is, its different and therefore (mostly) interesting. Hailing from Oakland, California but with family roots in South Africa, Break of Dawn is her fourth album of dreamy smoky soul in ten years and its a half decent collection of laid back but slightly eerie tunes.
Opening track Play is the perfect summation of Goapeles sound. Brilliant production from Dan Electric & Teddy Thunderbolt who, despite sounding like characters from a 70s childrens comic have harnessed her vocals to a woozy beat that will sound perfect bleeding from car windows on a hot summers day. Its sultry, sexy and smooth as hell. Similarly, Break of Dawn captures a very strong vocal performance and fine melody line and blends it with some 80s electronica to achieve a stunning result. Its measured and confident with hints of Sade. Tears On My Pillow has a sorrowful bluesey kind of feel to it without abandoning the mood of the album while Undertow is a return to the steaminess of Play.
Less successful is the annoying autotune on Milk and Honey which is about her love affair with Sugar Puffs. Ha ha. In fact things tail off rather badly altogether towards the end of the album. Right Here seems like uninspired filler which for a record with only nine tracks, there shouldnt really be any room for. Things pick up with a lovely vocal on 'Pieces but its not a patch on some of the previous tracks.
Theres definite class here and a superb mood to some of the tunes which makes Goapele stand out from the usual well show you our bums for 5p R&B crowd (hello Rihanna) but unfortunately what momentum Break of Dawn builds quickly fades. The stand out tracks really are, well, stand out while the rest are merely treading water.