Jamie Cullum
Momentum
Release Date: May 20, 2013
Genre(s): Pop, Jazz, Vocal, Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Vocal Pop, Contemporary Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Crossover Jazz
Record label: Universal Island Records
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Album Review: Momentum by Jamie Cullum
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Britain's Jamie Cullum's sixth studio album, 2013's Momentum, finds the jazz-influenced singer/songwriter flexing his creative muscles on a stylistically varied set. Working with a variety of instruments from vintage keyboards to electronic samples and beats, Cullum clearly used this project to expand his sonic palette. Which isn't to say that the singer has completely abandoned his usual vocals-and-piano format.
Based on rating 3
Jamie Cullum’s new record sees him writing nearly all his material for the first time. The results are, on the whole, pretty good, but Momentum might leave listeners in some doubt as to precisely who Cullum thinks he is. Momentum seems to be an exercise in trying on different clothes, all of which fit in an off-the-shelf kind of way. On The Same Things, Cullum sounds like Laura Mvula (who happens to be featured later on Sad, Sad World); on Pure Imagination, there’s a bit of a James Blake feel (without the innovation); Anyway could be a Bruno Mars song.