Here it is, the album you've all been waiting for. Moodymann has teased you before and gave you a little taste with that ABCD EP. Well, now you can rest easy knowing that all that waiting and anticipation was worth it. First up, give yourself a minute to take in the cover art. Got it? Good, we can move on now. Moodymann's eponymous CD is a tasty slice of classic style house jams. Some of the tracks, like "Hold It Down," have been released before, but the majority of the album is all new material. Moodymann works the samples like no one else, creating undeniable tracks in the process. The album has some choice guest spots with Jose James adding vocals to "Desire" and Andres doing his thing on "Lyk U Used 2." One of the standout surprises is the album closer, "Sloppy Cosmic." It's Moody's reworking of Funkadelic's "Cosmic Slop" and it just works. Really though, Moodymann has put together an album that is enjoyable front to back. Not every track is going to kill it on the dancefloor, but they all can stand on their own. Taken as a whole Moodymann is one of the better albums to see release so far this year. Expanded CD version with numerous tracks not available on the vinyl. Recommended.

• music label: KDJ 2014

reviewed by Joey Coco 02/2014