Joey Dosik breaks hearts and the boundaries of soul with Inside Voice

Most often you can hear Dosik playing keys and saxophone in Vulfpeck, but on their last album (Mr Finish Line), he sings "Running Away". A song he also released on his solo Game Winner EP a few years ago. The differences between the two versions encapsulate a lot of what separates his debut album from Vulfpeck's material. Whilst the Vulf put on a party around the edges of a track, unable to resist noodling, and taking unreserved joy in creating opportunities for said noodling, Joey's mix is richer, warmer, a little tinglier, a little straighter. But no less impressive.

And we're now blessed with a whole album of his music, with Inside Voice. An album whose tracks stretch across the whole spectrum of soul - influences on this album include Shuggie Otis to D'angelo to Carole King to Frank Ocean. With such an eclectic range of inputs, it's an album that could easily come across as disparate. Which perhaps it does, a little. It's a record that feels caught between honouring the more traditional strands of soul as per the Game Winner EP, vs a push into the sparkly realms of pop.

Dosik's appeal as an artist, for this author at least, was a couple of tracks off his EP - "Game Winner" and "Competitive Streak" particularly. That appeal was founded on the delicacy of his music, both in terms of songwriting and mix. The former is Dosik's ear for a cracking chord progression and simple, but effective, melodies. The latter is aided in part by Mocky, the multi-instrumentalist songwriter and collaborator whose instrumentally diverse fingers are all over this LP, helping it obtain a balanced, textured richness as he has done for Feist amongst others. But sometimes on this new album that grounded, authentic sound gets a little lost. Perhaps it's the other contributor to this record that's responsible: time.

Time has been chucked at this record, and you can hear it. Songs have been crafted to an inch of their life, and whilst that lends some songs to perfection, others feel just a little over-cooked. "Don't want it to be over" swaps in brash guitar and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's strings to create a shiny, upbeat pop hit, but its catchy sparkle eats away some of its underlying warmth. Similarly, the strings of "Inside Voice" have taken the track a long way from its fundamentals. Even slow-burning classic "Game Winner" has been given extra pizzazz, admitting it with the "stadium version" tag. To be clear: the songs underneath the production are still thoughtful and generally excellent; what is up for debate is whether, with all the production, they're better for it.

So whilst some feel a little highly strung, others feel bang on. "In Heaven" has an irresistible, disarmingly simple shuffle. All pieces of the arrangement fall into service of Dosik's timeless vocal delivery. "Grandma Song" is a beautiful tribute that knocks the Vulfpeck take out the park with its stripped back and heartfelt delivery. It's really hard to beat Dosik and a piano, as anyone who has heard him play solo can attest. If anyone can make a band lend a hand, Mocky and Miguel Atwood Ferguson are noble candidates, but there's a lot to say for the simpler moments to this record.

Dosik has created a set of beautiful songs, that each has the strength to be played by a full band, and played solo - in itself a sign of just how good Dosik is at songwriting. Like the greatest pop music, one interpretation is just a shade of what the tracks could be. And part of the joy of someone of Dosik's ability is seeing just how this album is brought to life off-record. But for now, Inside Voice boasts the range of styles to attract fans old and new to what is a mighty debut.