After two old-school jazz albums - the acoustic The Poet's Embrace and Vermillion Skies, recorded live in the studio and direct to tape - multi-instrumentalist Haines here reverts to the amalgam of sax 'n' flute jazz, hip-hop and slippery dance that made his name 20 years ago with the SquireFor Hire album.
This is a crafted, mature sound, which sometimes refers as much to Chic and Sly Stone (the latter overtly on Count On Me) as it does the influence of beats from Marc Mac, or the 80s sound of Ernie McKone's funky bass (notably on Got Me Thinking and Mastermind) and the similarly referenced keyboards from Haines' longtime co-producer Mike Patto.
And with soulful vocals from Kevin Mark Trail, Vanessa Freeman, Jaimie Webster Haines, Patto and Tama Waipara deployed carefully, these eight songs across 45 minutes slide effortlessly between genres, much as Squire For Hire did back in its day.
But on material like the obliquely oriental and delightfully ambient-soul Hidden Fortress (Haines on Indian flute, Patto on dulcimer) they also craft dance music for those who don't like getting off the couch. And, democratically, Haines slips in with sax, flute and trumpet so seamlessly as to never dominate.
