Twice as Nice (Sincere - MJ Cole)

Member Name: Pulsebeat

Product:	Sincere - MJ Cole
Date:	25/04/01 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some of UK garage's best moments

Disadvantages: too polished and too coffee table

'Sincere' promised to be UK garage's first and greatest longplayer, but ultimately fell short of its expectations. It was neither the commercial nor critical success which many people expected of it, yet there is much on this album that make it worth investigating. The inspirational moments on this album rank it among some of the best dance albums in the past few years, the singles 'Crazy Love' and 'Sincere' still glitter with the energy that they had when they were first released as singles, melting a smooth r'n'b style, with polished garage flourishes. These tracks work well on the dancefloor and equally well for home listening, but this desire to make a cohesive album that can be listened to at home makes 'Sincere' veer far too close to coffee table fodder at times. It is on the raw energy of track like 'MJ F.M. Interlude' that the album really hits its stride, with M.C. Slam King giving shout outs to his mates and the UK Garage underground, and this makes for truly inspirational listeneing and encapsulates everything that the scene is about. Unfortunately Matt Coleman (M.J. Cole), tries to use his classical musicianship too much and this means that the last 1/3 of the album is instantly forgettable, musically excellent.
Last single 'Hold On' couldn't even be picked out of a line-up by its own mother, and so it was never really going to make an impact on the charts.

This album is excellent in part, but lacks tunes in its slower moments and one can't help thinking that musicianship and slick production could have been toned down in favour of a rawer and more energetic album. However, it shows great promise and fans of UK garage should definitely consider 'Sincere' for its genre defining moments. However, if you are more intrigued by the genre and are just checking it out for the first time, try the Wookie LP instead.

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