TMN Magazine issue 4

Without being intensely familiar with every song title on the list, the fact that many of
these were classic-theatricals, Broadway melodies and show-tunes of sorts was lost on
me at first. As “Lost Without Your Love” began, I was unsure if Nicky was over-singing
the song…there are moments where the dramatic delivery sounds so committed to
performance that it almost came out over the top; but eventually, the tone and
approach of what she brings to her soulful sound makes much more sense as the
playlist continues on and Meant To Be sticks cohesively to its ambitions, sentiment &
ideas. The earlier tunes like “Lost Without Your Love” and “Misty” both had moments
where I was questioning the performances at moments until I realized that the
theatrical-side of Nothing But You’s music is a part of the recipe to their own signature
magic…and gradually, I accepted these songs more and more.
I still think there are a few questionable moments in “Lost Without Your Love” and in
“Misty” as well as far as Nicky’s vocals are concerned…but nothing off-putting, just
stylistic choices that you may/may-not accept on those first listens through.
Sometimes the break in her voice is the perfect addition…at others it’s right on the
fence for its tone on “Lost Without Your Love” – but with the beauty in Shota’s piano
backing her up…really everything we hear
becomes acceptable to our ears.
That dramatic and theatrical
approach that Nicky uses is built
into the fabric of the writing in
these cover songs…
and in that sense,
she’s doing these first two
songs tremendous justice with
confident and committed
performances.
Progressively, I felt like “Misty”
already began to show an
improvement on what we heard
from her in the first two songs as
she begins to let her voice truly
soar & highlight the impressive
range of her vocals – but it was
after this point on the record that I thought
this project really started to shine
even more.
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