Maunick wisely uses Baltimore's Maysa Leak, perhaps the best-known vocalist of Incognito, on the new album. She's featured on "I've Been Waiting," one of several highlights. Leak's plush, sensuous vocals underpin the song's hard-driving groove and chunky bass line, which give way to a buttery chorus. "It May Rain Sometime" slows things down a bit. Singer Joy Rose movingly croons the lovesick ballad over a Fender Rhodes electric piano.
At 15 tracks, Tales From the Beach is a generous album, bedazzled with colorful textures. But it never feels forced or overlong. The refreshing and unobtrusive music would play well at a barbecue or a hip cocktail party. But its verve and sass keep it from melting completely into the background.
Hil St. Soul, Black Rose: It's baffling that after three charming albums, the British duo of Zambian singer-songwriter Hilary Mwelwa and producer Victor Redwood-Sawyerr, collectively known as Hil St. Soul, remains in the margins of contemporary R&B. It could be that the unit is distributed in the United States by Shanachie, an indie label without a big promotional budget.
