A Little Something - Nigel Good

Out of Nigel Good's album trilogy, "A Little Something" is the first in the storyline, the last to release, and ironically the first one I listened to.

Returning to Monstercat after a full 9 years of inactivity, Nigel Good delivers the followup album to his 2015 Monstercat LP "Space Cadet", finally completing his album trilogy he began all the way back in 2014 with his "Nothing Out Here" LP. And oh my Nigel Goodness is it a phenomenal addition to the trilogy—and at the time of writing this I haven't even heard the rest of the trilogy—an expansive, hopeful, beginning-of-the-character-arc LP with absolutely pristine production quality and immaculate mixing. "A Little Something" is a genuine pleasure to listen to, and all the elements Nigel Good throws in work miracles—the subtle vocal chops that add immeasurable amounts of character, the rich synthwork that never fails to impress, the guitar instrumentation that chips in occasionally—miracles of sound design, to be sure, but the way they are mixed is pure, giving every element a fair say in the sonic makeup of each track and bringing them out of the soundscape in a beautiful fashion. Sound design is one thing, atmosphere is another, and once again the track composition does wonders. A continuous album complete with transitions, "A Little Something" maintains this quite airy, bright mix throughout its full runtime, and even in the bassier tracks like "Bastion Part 2" or "Something Beautiful", the synthwork still flourishes—quite frankly, the atmosphere lives up wholly to its expectations. Nigel Good, even after a decade-long hiatus, still maintains his spot at the epitome of the downtempo scene—and that encompasses a fair amount of styles in itself, many of which are featured in "A Little Something", from progressive house to melodic house, chillstep to liquid drum n bass, ambient to synthwave—and if the epitome of the downtempo scene is going to be production like this, then, hey, I'm not complaining. 

It's certainly not the flashiest album ever, but "A Little Something" is elegant. It's characterful, it's upbeat, it's a soundtrack to an idealistic dream or a new beginning (or both!). But I will say that at times it can feel a little repetitive, and/or it can feel a little forgettable—even if it stands out as a lovely listening experience—and the fact that some of the tracks are rehashes of previous "Space Cadet" tracks is a little offputing. Honestly, I don't have much to say here. Final note: the second disc on the album is actually just the "Space Cadet" LP (which is a different album altogether), so do keep track of what you're listening to.