In the age of
Sean Paul and
Beenie Man, Cosmo's mixture of traditional bass-heavy reggae and dancehall electronics sounds delightfully out of fashion. The occasional rap (not toasting, but straight-up American-style rap) on songs like "We Were Younger Then" is the only indication that this isn't a British lover's rock album from the early '80s, right down to the oddly retro sound of many of the synths. Songs like "You and Me" and "I Wanna Hold You Pretty Baby" are as uncomplicated as their titles, but Cosmo's mature, lived-in voice adds an air of authority even to the lightest tunes here. Don't think about this album too hard and it's a great bit of frivolous pop-reggae fun, but when one pays too much attention, the songs' charms tend to wear thin. ~ Stewart Mason