The debut record from Jessica 6 starts off fast enough to what we expect from the Brooklyn trio with singles ‘White Horse’ and album title track ‘See The Light’ giving emphasise and momentum. This would give you the assumption for a promising album but as you dive deeper into the unknown, you will find that the record somewhat deteriorates from what we would expect.

Fronted by Nomi Ruiz and backed by bassist Andrew Raposo and the man on the keyboards Morgan Wiley, Jessica 6 formed as an accident to begin with, but there is no mistaking there is some talent in this unit, they just lack a bit of consistency. With Nomi’s raw vocals, a talented bass player in Andrew and ensuring every track gets the dance floor moving in Morgan, the band who took their name from a character from the 70s cult classic Logan’s Run has the tools and attributes to make the most surreal of non-movers tap and toe at least, it’s just a shame they didn’t follow this throughout the record.

‘Fun Girl’ is probably the last bit of joy to come from the record as the tracks after just don’t seem to fit in to the mood set by the previous tracks. Although perhaps more tasteful and sentimental the up beat songs composed, the mood behaviour is a stark contrast from the dance-y attitude proposed earlier.

When you listen to ‘In The Heat’ and ‘Freak The Night’ being broken up by the cracking interlude ‘Jessica Jessica’, you can understand the frustration imposed on the record because you can clearly see a lot of potential. The thought process is understandable and would have worked in variation and limitation.

The outstanding track conjured from the trio has to be ‘Prisoner Of Love’. This is what Jessica 6 is all about, a funky backdrop, 80s inspired synth notes and a chorus everyone can sing-a-long to. The marriage of male and female vocals of Ruiz and featuring act Anthony Hegarty during the second part of the song is something the band should look in future projects to abuse when nessasary.

Although Jessica 6’s debut record See The Light does lose some form towards the end, there are some good moments for fans to enjoy. Ruiz at times does sound on another level, blending into the beats created by Raposo and Wiley naturally and elegantly.

I would say there is a lot more to come from the trio from Brooklyn. From this album, Ruiz, Raposo and Wiley can learn a great deal of where to go next. The door is left wide open to where they want to go.

MOBO gives Jessica 6 a respectable 3 M’s out of 5.

See The Light is out on the 6th of June

Words by: Dean Woodhouse

For more on Jessica 6, visit http://www.peacefrog.com/artists/jessica-6