The modern sound of the past:
Although only 23, in music industry terms Denai Moore is a battle-hardened veteran, having been operating at its fringes since her teens. Evidently this has left her with the maturity and confidence to create an album as ambitious as We Used To Bloom.
She has the voice of a classic soul singer and an ear for devastating melodies, but the wit to forgo a self-consciously retro sound.
Instead she opts for crisp, contemporary production that matches old-school brass with synths, electric beats and formally daring background effects (Leave it Up to You, in particular, creates a strikingly unsettling soundscape).
With influences from a wide range of genres running the gamut of old-school R&B (Bring You Shame, Does It Get Easier) to the introverted folk-rock of Elliott Smith (Twilight), We Used To Bloom is a mesmerising listen.
This review first appeared in the Belfast Telegraph
James JW Robinson 