I had heard about Noonie through the grapevine a few years back, but his return to the spotlight this time around is well-deserved. Lost In Ohio is eleven vastly different melodic waves to delve into. Past the wondrous vocal approach, the production was handled by 808-H and Robert Rumfield, who both snapped heavily. 808-H was the man on the tables when “God’s Plan” was leaked, plus he’s got some platinum credits so he knows what sounds stellar.
Starting the opus off with “Watch Yo Kids,” which is a brilliantly chill way to flow into things. Noonie floats over the acoustic guitar and doesn’t force the notes on the higher end of things. The cadence he adopts is catchy and leaves plenty of spacing for the instrumentation to shine as well. Carrying into “Still Riding Deep,” (produced by Zachary Michael and Senses), an exciting blend of modern styles all melded into a precise package. This is one of the strongest feel-good moods on this project.
“Go Away” is so infectious and such a simple concept that the world can agree on. “If you ain’t gonna be down you can just go away.” This could turn into a big moment once the world gets wind of this. “No” plays with the dark end of things and it’s wild to hear how well Noonie‘s voice works on a number of production styles. “Fyi” and “Flavors” are two other standouts off the strength the energy they both curate. The latter of the two will be singed into your cortex until the day you die and this is a great thing, trust us. The warm, lush setting the pads create sets up Noonie to shine all the way through.
This is one of those projects that will be marked as the beginning of an era for SB Rich Noonie. 808 and Robert played a huge part in turning this compilation of talents into a special set of sounds. There are those who know and those who act like they don’t, find somewhere for yourself to fit in and we’ll talk soon.
