Temika Moore - Doing Just Fine

Two years after her solid debut, Moment of Truth, Temika Moore has taken the next step forward in her development with her sophomore disc, Doing Just Fine.  Maybe even a leap forward.  While her debut showed a talented singer who was developing as a songwriter and producer, Doing Just Fine shows real advancement in both of those categories, and could be one of the first great indie soul albums of 2006. 

Fine is generally more upbeat than its predecessor and Moore has really created a number of excellent musical and vocal arrangements to support her always-intelligent lyrics.  So while artists like the Pussycat Dolls are dominating radio with songs that equate femininity with shallowness and sexuality, Moore instead sings of individual empowerment and adult relationships based on respect and mutual sacrifice (what a concept!).  Moore also digs deeper into her spirituality on the album, taking a Gospel turn on "Conversation" and "Come Sunday."

While Moment of Truth occasionally sacrificed the melodies for the message, Doing Just Fine creates a nice balance, with generally stronger tunes such as "Conversation," "Light as a Feather" and the title cut.  Moore also handles covers of "Follow Your Road" and the Isleys' "Groove With You" nicely.

Temika Moore called her first album Moment of Truth because it was the culmination of years of preparation and self-examination.  Doing Just Fine could easily be called Moment of Growth, as it is a very nice display of Moore's growth as an artist and musician and should propel her to the next level of critical and commercial acclaim in the soul music world.

By Chris Rizik