Album Review: Jordan Rakei - Franklin's Room

29 November 2013 | 3:43 pm | Stephanie Tell

Rakei's vocals prove effortlessly polished, but border on sleazy.

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Single/opener, My Time, commences with solemn, lounge room-style piano, juxtaposed with the sudden introduction of crunching drums and soulful vocals. This culminates in an unusual but effective brand of contemporary R&B. Follow-up track, Hope is similarly sultry, but lacks the adventurousness of the opening song. Maintaining suaveness, Selfish branches out with brassy instrumentation and a rasta groove. Get Up is similarly accessible, offering a catchy, funk-infused rhythm and Afro-style percussion; flickerings of watery, tinny keyboard notes adding colour. Rakei's vocals prove effortlessly polished, but border on sleazy. He plays at Corner Hotel on 21 Nov.