Manchester’s Daley has been pushing through the soul underground for some time receiving plaudits from the trendier end of the blogosphere, garnering radio play on 1Xtra, collaborating with Damon Albarn on the Gorillaz track Doncamatic and performing live here, there and everywhere, engaging audiences with his soulful vocals. I’ve seen Daley a few times supporting other artists, most recently as the opening act for Bobby Womack at the Jazz Cafe, where he was, without doubt, the best vocalist of the night! His vocal performance sometimes comes across as being a little too reminiscent of early Maxwell styled super-sweet soul vocals (although I don’t really think that’s a bad thing), delivered against the backdrop of what is ostensibly late night smoothed out soul. Each time I’ve heard him live, I’ve been convinced of his talent, but the unplugged approach, while putting his sublime vocals centre stage, has left me wanting a little more. However, with the release of his Those Who Wait mixtape a couple of weeks back, now available as a freeload, I feel like I’m beginning to get a better understanding of where Daley’s coming from.
Daley’s sound is resolutely late night, stripped-back contemporary soul. I’m astounded that he has received such attention from the trendier end, given that his sound fits snugly in to the less than celebrated indie soul scene (albeit with major label backing). The dominant late night crooning, most clearly represented by his acoustic cover of Maxwell’s Pretty Wings, combined with a decidedly stripped back sound makes Those Who Wait a mood piece, rather than a collection of strong songs with significant replay value. I’m hoping we’ll get that once his much anticipated album drops.
Daley’s certainly a talent to watch and cuts like Those Who Wait, Let It Go, Game Over, Alone Together (featuring Marsha Ambrosius) and Spent will find favour with most contemporary soul seekers. In fact, had the record company seen fit to just release those five tracks as an EP, my reaction would have been decidedly more effusive. I was also a tad disappointed that my fave Daley track, the quite beautiful Be, was not on the mixtape, but perhaps that’s being saved for his proper album, hinting at the goodies yet to come. Thank goodness the fine folk at Pinboard captured this lovely vocal performance of Be, a track reminiscent of Everything But the Girl at their very best.
