The one time “Singing Policewoman”, Boston’s KIM TAVAR (formerly Kim Tavares) has been entertaining us for a couple of years with a series of classy singles and a well-received album, ‘My Story’. Ms T has just released a second album and the aptly titled ‘The Next Stage’ is another assured take on contemporary soul music.
The long player is a concise ten tracker of which nine cuts are orignals. The one cover is a version of a Karin Jones’ 1982 song ‘Last Night In My Dreams’ though here Kim has shortened the title to just ‘Last Night’. And the selection of that song and its production is quite significant in assessing the whole album. This ‘Last Night’ is a lovely 80s throwback sound; it has a real feel good Weekender feel and right across the album you’ll discover that that’s the overriding mood. Whether the song’s a tight beater or an emotive ballad there’s a definite whiff of the 80s and 90s about proceedings. You might remember that Kim has a thing about nostalgia… one of 2022’s best singles was her ‘Good ‘Ole Days’.
Oddly that’s not included on this new album. The only track that has been out previousy as a single is the ballad, ‘Beautiful’ but on ‘The Next Stage’, it’s the beaty dancers that carry the day. Amongst them is ‘Ain’t No One’ which sounds like it was inspired by ‘Ain’t Nobody’ but an ‘Ain’t Nobody’ as imagined by Jam and Lewis . ‘Call Me Back’ and the catchy ‘Hold Tight’ will have feet tapping too.
For the album, Kim has used a variety of producers, including the UK’s The Realm who’s at the helm of ‘You Don’t Know’ which rides in on an unusual acoustic guitar riff. Despite the different producers though, the sound of ‘The Next Stage’ is consistent – a committed and convincing take on the modern soul genre with a touch of retro. Learn more @ https://www.firstexperiencerecords.com/product/kim-tavar-the-next-stage-cd-album-pre-order-in-stock-w-c-29-5-23/
