Momoko is a debut that refuses to sit neatly in one lane, drawing on jazz, down-tempo, neo-soul, spoken word, and spiritual grooves. The opener Satellite combines warm, organic instrumentation with strange dissonant clashes that give the gorgeous beauty an eerie undercurrent, and that balance becomes the defining feature of the album. 

Reminiscent of the richness you might associate with Bonobo or Quantic, Momoko is deep and groovy, bending jazz tradition through a dreamy atmosphere. Momoko Gill’s gentle voice is central to the unforced feel, with unpredictable melodies that rarely go where you expect, twisting softly and refusing to land in obvious places rather than resolving neatly. No Others lands on a sublime, rounded double bass groove and beautiful drumming with a sonic palette that’s lush and layered with little instrumental flourishes. Warm music that keeps you off balance, Heavy leans more directly into tradition with flute lines glowing warmly. Rewind/Remind is perhaps the most representative single, capturing the way Gill blends jazz roots with studio expansiveness, feeling spacious and modern without sacrificing intimacy. Shadowboxing sounds submerged and murky, whilst Test A Small Area is filled with squeaks and strange textures. 2close2farr strips everything back to piano and voice before one of the album’s most striking pieces Anyway, I’m Drowning, in which Gill recounts a dream with vivid spoken word storytelling before looping into an immersive refrain. When Palestine Is Free builds around a choir, but feels more reflective than a protest anthem, posing its central question as more of an inquiry than a slogan, contemplative rather than declarative. Momoko is a compelling combination of gentleness and experimentation that’s unusually quirky and thoroughly warm.