Genius is one of those words that gets flung about and ends up bruised for the flinging. There’s always the value gap between labels of praise and the objects they’re stuck on—it’s something that’s too easy to say, and too difficult to be. Or (to mix metaphors), peel the label and you’re left with a sticky residue that gathers dirt. So, having framed and disclaimed Maurice Fulton by implication, let’s just say—it’s really good that such a multi-talented producer has found in Kathy Diamond a vocalist whose chords sympathize with his key qualities. Both the first fantastic All Woman EP and, now, “Over” intimate a collaboration that could see one of the year’s most accomplished syntheses of house, funk, disco and ‘80s-inflected pop.

“Over” harks far further back to its ‘70s roots than the former single, which swung off a slapping bassline and a big funk clap. Here it’s all organs and hall-size reverb, which lend a soaked stage for Fulton to let rip. Diamond’s vocals seem to get a little lost in the “big room”—another sound/effect in the overall instrumental. In fact, whether with or without the vocal, neither mix reaches the heights of the funky lowdown on “All Woman.” Yet between these two singles there exists a range of sounds and directions that begs for exploration and suggests the imminent arrival of something truly great. That’s all I’m going to say.

Permanent Vacation / PERMVAC 008-1
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[Peter Chambers]