Vince Score – The Vince score consists of scoring based on the topics below.
Total points attainable: (100 pts)
- What’s the genre – Jazz Fusion
- Are the arrangements interesting? – Yes. I may be a little biased as I’m a big jazz fusion fan, but I enjoyed the arrangements of the songs. The mix of R&B/Gospel influence with jazz techniques is a sound that I’m just a big fan of. That being said, as an avid listener of this genre of music I must admit several of the songs sound very familiar in sound and style to others in the genre. (17/20)
- Are the melodies compelling? – The album doesn’t have lyrics. I decided to replace the vocal questions with whether or not the melodies, which I consider the “voice” of the song, are compelling. Honestly, the melodies in this album seem to follow the chords very closely, or vice versa with the exception of a few songs, I certainly wouldn’t say that the melodies are incredibly powerful, but they’re good. (16/20)
- Instrumental performance? – I really like the mix of the songs, especially the sound of the bass. The performers are very impressive instrumentalists and it doesn’t sound as if they hold back in their songs. However, as I said earlier, some of the songs sound almost a little “par for the course” in terms of Jazz Fusion. (17/20)
- Musicality? – Unsurprisingly, musicality is very high. Although I must admit some songs could use a little more dynamics in my opinion. (18/20)
- Standout tracks? – Intro, Moving Forward, and Too Many Kicks are some of my favorites
- Album low points? – The album is very strong, especially for a first album, but at the same time the songs Lucid and Avenue feel a little slow and very similar to each other, and I tend to tune out a little between those two, but the album is immediately brought back up by Too Many Kicks. (18/20)
- Bonus – Would I add it to my playlist? Definitely. Like I said, I may be a little biased, but I do think it’s a great album, especially for fans of Jazz Fusion.
Additional notes – This album is the first and only album from HOWES3. It’s an incredible album to open with and I look forward to their growth as a band. I do admit that I want to see them develop their own truly unique sound, as this sounds like it takes heavy inspiration from bands such as Snarky Puppy.
Vince Score: 86
