Music Review // Spek "Voo Doo Kid"

https://open.spotify.com/album/5AikWxzEryxKUE1ibO4gEP

  It's not easy to think of Spek in a music style, as from start to finish "Voo Doo Kid" just has more of a vibe to it than anything else.   Starting with the song "Fine" there is this feeling of fun guitars, rock mixed with pop but also those R&B elements come through as well.  Record scratches make me think this is a party and the first artist that comes to mind to compare this with is Fun Lovin' Criminals.  This can carry throughout the entire album, though at times the lyrics can become more thought-provoking and the sound can become more serious as well.

Getting into the second song, "Staring At The Sun", can begin to set this album on pace as hip hop.  It reminds me a bit of Arrested Development (the musical group, not the show) or something I might hear on Hand'Solo Records.  There is soulful singing in the chorus of most of these songs and they can also find their way back to that party rhythm.  Big pianos can also take us into big guitars on "Where The Money Goes", while the next song goes right into acoustics and feels a bit more country.

Lyrically you're going to find a lot to write about on "Voo Doo Kid".   The chorus on the first song says: "Went too far to let go / Thought I lost my mind / Went too far to let go / Now I'm feeling fine" which is a good mantra for recovery.  "21 Grams" has a line I really enjoy that says: "A hippie stuck in traffic / Yes, I'm taking the high road" and you'll find little clever bits like that to pull out just as much you'll want to think about an entire song, such as "Celebrity" which is about not wanting to be famous but do we really have a choice in that?

Each song has its own sound but often times there is more than one voice on a song.  It makes for this great collaboration sound, which feels more like a group effort than just one person, but it also can just all come back to that one person who is Spek.  What I perhaps like most about "Voo Doo Kid" is that it starts with the song "Fine" and ends with the song "Feels Alright", both bringing you in on a positive note and leaving you on a positive note as well.  This just feels like you are better off than you were before having heard this album.