Live Review: Omar, Candice Monique & The Optics

Candice Monique has been slinking around the bars and clubs of Melbourne, hitting us up with her unique blend of urban styles for some years now. Fronting her band The Optics, Monique sings a selection of tunes from her 2010 debut In My Soul and plenty of new material that we can expect to hear on her next album. Monique's style is soulful, which is in keeping with the theme of the evening, but she and her band effortlessly blend r'n'b, funk and even a little daisy-age hip hop. Her cover of the old Stax soul hit by Linda Lyndell, What A Man, puts a whole lot of soul back into the song that Salt-N-Pepa kind of left out when they covered it. Whether she is harmonising with her backing singers, sounding a little like Destiny's Child, or putting a bit of an acid-jazz spin on the arrangements, Monique's music is more influenced by what happened in the '90s than the '60s or '70s. She concludes her show with a new tune and this sassy showstopper suggests that Monique's next album will definitely be worth the wait.

Back in the day in amongst Incognito, Brand New Heavies and Young Disciples was Omar. Omar's vintage makes him more of a young soul rebel than part of the current generation of neo-soul artists. Thrilling the ladies, it was Omar who possibly inspired D'Angelo to take his shirt off for the cover of Voodoo and while Stevie Wonder has recently claimed to like Frank Ocean's music, he was talking up Omar in much the same way many years ago. Tonight Omar's band produces a busy jangle that puts a soulful spin on funk and acid jazz-inspired grooves as he croons on a selection of hits and some new tunes. After dealing some seriously uplifting, sun-kissed vibes, Omar reflects that it has taken him 20 years to finally tour Australia. His singing voice may be deep and resonant, but it is amusing that he sounds like a bit of a geezer when he talks. While the hype machine has dubbed Omar a “soul legend”, he's had a curiously slow-burning career that has given us a mixed bag of just six albums. The Prince is only half full, but the fans that Omar has drawn are fanatical and they enthusiastically take photos and applaud his every move. Covers of the old William DeVaughn tune Be Thankful For What You Got and Roy Ayers' Everybody Loves The Sunshine offer the most blissed-out moments. Landing gently, Omar's groovalicious tunes provide a chilled Friday night comedown.