So I knew I wanted to write this review immediately upon hearing it. I love it and I’m just going to get right into it. Starting in an uplifting tone (“watering the garden, so it grows from the sunshine, watch it pull the earth up with colors from my sunrise”), but immediately dropping into some honest personal truths, Short Moscato doesn’t take too much time to swoop us into a darker realm sort of filled with an almost “down trodden” spirit. That’s when “Juju’s Theme” comes in with that dark sad synth. This is something I honestly crave hearing these days because, let’s be honest, this year was a fucking wild journey for a lot of people. Also, from the point of view of this type of sound, hearing that spirit is refreshing in a way. It feels almost like a “sit down be humble” without needing to say it. But the thing I think that Moscato comfortingly reminds us of is that a lot of us are really dealing with confronting some personal drama. I know I needed it cause when we suffer, we change, and hopefully for the better too.

 “Show Me How” is all the feel good lo-fi twinges with essences of early Oddisee vibes and those clear, beautiful straight forward vocals on “show me how you care”, is a needed release. Even darker still, “Rothko” takes us in and drags us out with some beautiful musical interludes that move us into “The Big Dream”. I think this one is my favorite from the album. I love the production on it so much. I listened properly on my good headphones several times. It’s clear and gentle yet effective vibes make me want to keep listening to it over and over. He mentions hiding his heart in an open field, and honestly, it really does feel like you’re lying in a field, living retrospectively, reflecting, while simultaneously trying to be present? I get that WIDE stereo imaging ambiance of what sounds like a pond of nature in the evening and the “green pines”. Did I tell you how much I love the production on this track? Anyway… we get a rush of noise in “Hide and Seek” before heading into piano ballad, “Wrist” and the last, “Exit”, where Short Moscato brings us to some conclusions with some bright beats and bright smiles, “and I got one COVID rule, I hit the blunt first, that’s it.” This album was a real treat to review, and I’ll probably keep “The Big Dream” on repeat all week lol.

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Review by Suzanne Bonifacio