Don’t know too much about Ms. Mocha B, save that her brief bio mentions singing in the Church, while her record label is based down in Long Beach, California. The gospel connection is self-evident in the committed vocal delivery throughout the 11 tracker, though much of the time she’s working with songs that don’t allow her too much scope to show what she can do. I don’t know any of the names on the writing credits, so I’m guessing that all the songs are in-house affairs and it seems that this team (led by one Ryakin Rip) want to cast Mocha in the role of R&B princess. Who can blame them? That’s where the big money rewards are. But lacking big budget production values it doesn’t quite come together. Best of the attempts at contemporary R&B is the opening cut ‘Music’. It’s a gentle, almost understated groove that works equally well in an acoustic remix at the end. The rest? Well, with one outstanding exception it’s all formulaic R&B with ‘No More’ being particularly derivative. The exception I’ve just mentioned is the album’s title cut. ‘Call It Love’ is a very crisp modern soul beater. It has a catchy melody allowing Ms. B to do what she can do best: i.e. sing soulfully. Her people know it’s the album’s standout. Not only do they name the album after it, but they’re pushing the track as the lead single. It’s worth investigation and you can grab a listen at www.mochabmusic.com , while the album is available via all the usual internet outlets.
(BB) 3/5
