(Album Review)-@GetMosesMusic Not Quite Vegas

NQV - Front Cover

Known mostly for producing artists on the HERecords imprint, Milwaukee’s Moses presents his eight song audio biopic, “Not Quite Vegas”. This marks his first ever solo endevour where we find the Wisconsin native revisiting the past five years of his personal and professional life thru music. Las Vegas is a city with a reputation of living in the now. With that said, we find Moses searching for his own personal Vegas and nearing that location on the album, hence the title, “Not Quite Vegas”. We had the chance to speak with Moses for a “Buzz’N” iNterview segment (click here) in which he shared insight to the album. With the complexity that’s behind the project, we combined some of Moses’ breakdowns along with our own thoughts for an album review segment for “Not Quite Vegas”, as found below.

NQV - Back Cover

Powerful synth organs and finger snaps kick off the intro song, “Equilibrium”. The song is based on balance and a relationship gone awry. Moses stated “I was so obsessed with my music and success that I unknowingly sabotaged our relationship. I have to live with that.” As the beat builds up, the cosmic sounds meshed with record scratches really bring this song to climax. The song closes out with an old text message reading.

As if that experience wasn’t enough to drive someone mad, Pat Yo, a good friend of Moses’, passed away in 2015. Again, channeling a fast paced rhythm of “Run”. Utter chaos ensues with limited beat breaks. Speaking on the passing of Pat, Moses stated “there was nothing crazier that happened in the last 5 years than losing him”. The song is brilliantly conceived, with a splash on anxiety, in a musical sense. On the tail end of the song, an actual freestyle from Pat plays out. Which brings us to the driven sounds of “Bandit”. Featuring powerful vocals from singer Kelsey Lawson, this presentation gives off the sense of survival, finding the will to never give up. With a four-on-the-floor base, Moses paints an audio picture full of electronic and dance sounds. One of my favorite from the album so far. As the song fades out, we hear a voicemail from Moses’ mother.

NQV then continues it’s smooth sound on the seductive, “The Way You Look”. The beat gives off a romantic feeling, a record that will be a sure hit among the ladies. As Moses explained “this is every Christie Brinkley scene from “National Lampoon’s Vacation”. If you don’t get it, go watch that movie, it’s a classic.” The song concludes with another voicemail interlude. Enter “Change”, where Hip Hop meets EDM meets R&B. This is a very uniquely sounding track, with an array of change-ups that keep your ears at attention. The sound of the album has been great so far but this song stands out on it’s own. It’s something that can’t be explained, rather heard. The outro features outtakes from a past recording session after a long night of drinking.

Samples of bird chirps and pad arpeggios start off the addictive “Swim.” Take note, this is the most solid Hip Hop track on NQV. Starting off with clean Boom Bap drum programming, the Milwaukee producer then shuffles the song into well synced beat breaks. Check 2:25 where the whole beat takes a turn for a new found approach. After words of wisdom via interlude Moses once again mans the organs and synth leads on “Since 20Twelve”. This particular record gives off a dire sense of urgency, like something bad has happened. That feeling really begins to set in when the sounds of male vocal samples creep in and out. As the song closes, we get a small glimpse as to what inspired this song. The final song just happens to be the title song, “Not Quite Vegas”. Chris Haase and D’Amato lend their voices and creativity to the mix to help sum up the overall theme of the album. The record gives off a champion vibe / survivor anthem and is the closest thing to a full on vocal song we get from the project. In closing, Moses says his goodbyes and brings the album to a close.

We know what some of you may have at first been thinking, that this was a beat tape and not an actual album. With the provided review, it’s now easy to understand how this in fact tells a story of a battered man that although may have been knocked down, fought thru the struggles and has finally began seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Listening closely, it appears that Moses may be arriving at this happy place he’s been in search of all along, his own personal Vegas. “Not Quite Vegas” can be streamed and purchased down below.

About Blitz

President, E.I.C. & Content Manager for Get Your Buzz Up - Digital Media Specialist For Independent Artists

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