I have always enjoyed hearing works by new writers, whether it be individual songs, cycles, or complete musicals. One of the most promising new writers of recent years is Michael Mott - you may remember I reviewed his 2014 album Where The Sky Ends - so I was eager to hear his latest release.

Abandoned Heart offers a variety of feel good pop, anthemic soul and introspective ballads featuring vocals by some of Broadway, television and film's most celebrated talents. The LP is co-produced by Mott and Rich Matthew and follows the success of Mott's debut album, which was also released by Grammy-winning label, Broadway Records.

"This album has been a true labour of love and I am ecstatic to finally release this new material into the world,” says Mott. “It has been three years since my first studio album and I have grown so much as a person and artist. Working on Abandoned Heart has helped me find my own individual voice and point of view as a writer and singer. It was my goal to make a feel-good pop album featuring my friends from the stage and screen and it was so inspiring to work with these phenomenal vocalists and tailor each song to their individual styles and personalities. My producer, Rich Matthew, made all of these songs come to life with his brilliant production and it was an honour to work with Grammy and Emmy Award Winner, Jack Miele, who served as our mixing consultant and mastered the whole record. I am also so thankful to team up once again with Van Dean and Broadway Records who have been extremely supportive and encouraging throughout the making and release of this album. I cannot wait for the world to hear!"

There’s no shortage of vocal talent featured here - Natalie Weiss, Jennifer Damiano, Andy Mints, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Mott himself just to mention a handful. It’s a very well produced album, and is a very easy listen. As usual, the booklet is informative, crisp and exactly what’s needed. Kudos as ever to the label here.

Of the songs, it’s a mixed bag - ‘that difficult second album’ rings true somewhat. Some of the songs very much felt like ‘and here’s the bits we left off the first album’. Whilst that’s not the case, and by no means meant to put you off buying this release, none of the material had much of an impact on me. I remember saying the first album was a mixed bag, and this one is perhaps a little more mixed that that. There are some decent songs here, and I think others may get more out of this album than me, but I wanted it to be a more fulfilling experience.

‘Genuine’ is a great dance-esque track, and is the most catchy song featured. One song I did particularly like was ‘More Than Me’ with a great Gospel Choir featured, and the choir featured again on ‘The Wild Ones’ - a really great sound. Again, and I think this was the case on the first album, my favourite number is the one that Mott himself performs ‘Get Up On My Feet’ - very quirky, catchy and just a lot of fun.

Worth a listen.

6

Ian Gude