Don’t Wake Me Up is a body of work that both stimulates and soothes a musically curious mind. The songs are at once disarming and complex, blending a smooth, soulful voice with complex chord changes and playful, dancing melodies that skip lightly across the instrumentation of members of Nashville’s more seasoned neo jazz/funk/R&B/soul outfit, Dynamo. Hammel’s vocal talent is undeniable, with striking similarities to the vocal timbre of early St. Vincent records like Marry Me but with rounder edges that bring Nora Jones to mind. The overall complexity and combination of jazz, funk, and soul elements come together in these songs to form a masterful and cohesive piece that just makes sense to any appreciative listener. – Andrew Strader
