MD-1 Project - Jelly Baby

Hear The Track Here

Well it looks like Ricky Mancini (aka MD-1 Project) has finally settled on a name! I've reviewed this MP3 Unsigned artist a couple of times now and been pleasantly surprised both times. With Use Your Noodle (January 2006) which first introduced me to this artist with the bold claim that he used no loops in this production, and its surprisingly good. Coherent and dynamic with an extremely enjoyable interplay between the beats and guitar, it was definitely a good introduction. Area 39 (February 2006) only reinforced this impression, even though it was a distinctly dance-y flavour which - as you well know by now - is not the thing to make MY balls bounce.

It's best not to ask what actually does though...

Although it's billed as pop, to my ears it doesn't even come close, at least not in any of my definitions of the genre anyway. Again, like Area 39, it's very much in the dance style even the vocal which is what I imagine Ricky used to justify the pop tag. Truth is, I have a bit of a problem right here. As much as I liked Use Your Noodle, the two tracks I have heard since then - although good in most respects - do not have enough originality going on for them to really push them out in front of the pack. That feeling may well be down to my own antipathy towards the dance style although the more I listened to Jelly Baby the more I felt that it was a bit - how can I put this? - light.

One of the things that has impressed me most about this artist is the production values he brings to his tracks and I don't even have that crutch to lean on with this track. Again, what came across time after time was how 'thrown together' it felt - both in material content AND production/mix. To my ears the track didn't carry anything like as big a bottom end as the dance genre demands, and nothing like the catchiness and sheer addictive qualities of the pop genre. I don't know, maybe it's just me having a conniption again (which should come as no surprise I know) but somehow I experienced a sense of disappointment about this track that is maybe not exactly fair to MD-1 Project but it is what I feel. As a balance to this probably juandiced view, I seem to be very much in the minority judging by the song comments from other MP3 Unsigned members, so I guess Ricky has a choice between my crabby views and the endless compliments from others.

And yes, my aren't we grumpy tonight? :D