ZASKA - NECTAR

ZASKA’s new album drops just in time for the summer. Nectar, an album full of featured artists from the Dublin neo-soul scene brings a breezy, funk powered eleven tracks. Starting off slower with “What We Had,” featured artist Shiv brings a soulful vocal delivery, quickly followed by the track “No Right Time” that owes its silky groove to the likes of Vulfpeck and Scary Pockets. “The Papez” lets hip-hop artist jarjarjr show off his lyricism on top of a colorful bed of horn arrangements, grazing the line of political poetry, stating “I got sick of them picking dividends off the little man.” Sprinkled throughout the album, ZASKA shows off some guitar work, notably on the outro of “Ever Cross Your Mind,” owing influence to the greats like Wes Montgomery and contemporaries like Tom Misch. “Play The Game,” the ninth track shows off the album’s production with the great mix of studio tricks and effects mixed in with a sticky rhythm guitar. The album concludes with lo-fi instrumentation and Gemma Dunleavy’s calming voice on “Do It Again,” a change of pace from the funk of the rest of the album. 

ZASKA maintains consistency through the entire album, with stong arrangements and solid production, however, it can at times be repetitive both musically and lyrically, though, the album being that of the neo soul genre makes this an acceptable flaw. The album leaves space for ZASTRA’s famous live presence to fill the space with jazz improvisation.