Is yesterday today? There are times when the past and present seem to have collided and that is never more true than in the world of popular music. Darling Nikki has taken the retro approach with her EP “Hippie Soul” – there might even be a clue in the title – but her evident affection for the sounds of a bygone era easily gets her through what could have been an artistically challenged night.
It would nonetheless be perfectly reasonable to assume that these five songs would be a mere exercise in style yet the combination of Darling Nikki’s blue eyes soul voice, harmonies aplenty and the kind of deep and round musical arrangements reminiscent of the days when the song was all that mattered make for an appealing listening experience. I might even go as far as to say that she has taken very analogue approach to getting her music from the studio to your ears and that has successfully put her style right into the groove where it belongs. Indeed I might and I will.
Her voice works well on these songs with the ballad “Time 2 Let Go” pulling itself to the front of the pack in the race for the best song on this EP. That said, nothing really disappoints on “Hippie Soul” so I will end these words with a request to hear more of her music. Darling Nikki is plenty good enough for my 100% not hippie soul.