Striking
somewhere between the romantic and the politically active. From Steve
Lacy’s TikTok hit “Bad Habit” topping the charts, to Jill Scott
continuing to sell out shows, those digital-analogue grooves and that
conscious attitude still hold sway.
Cut from that same cloth comes Mychal Fisher AKA MMYYKK. With a few EPs under his belt, including the terrific Science, he’s been quietly riding the waves of this latest neo-soul moment. His debut The Midst of Things is his attempt to position himself as its new cosmic funk king. But, while he takes aim at the stars, he never quite reaches it by not quite bringing anything new to the table.
MMYYKK
certainly channels the ease and power of contemporaries and icons like
Anderson .Paak and D’Angelo. He makes even the most complex rhythms seem
second nature. “U Got Me”, a stunning ode to falling deeply in love,
blooms with gloriously glitchy harmonies and a hypnotic beat. Opener
“The Midst Of Things” lollops the record into view with a treacly
bassline, while the entirely instrumental, lo-fi “Get Free” closes
things out with a beautifully glistening finish.
It’s
all joy-inducing, groovy tributes to finding the light amidst the
darkness. But, with a whole universe to explore, MMYYKK settles in the
familiar and rarely lets his own character shine. There are shades of
D’Angelo’s honeyed swagger, Thundercat’s mesmeric rhythms, and Herbie
Hancock’s funky experimentation all over this record. And MMYYKK focuses
their energies into a taut, groovy record. But, where Science felt urgent and full of personality, it’s hard to find MMYYKK in The Midst of Things
