Along with powerhouse production outfit Artful Dodger, Craig David rode the late 1990s into the aughts on the wave of UK Garage, setting dance-floor paces with staccato beats and catchy hooks. The sound straddled underground clubs and pop charts with ease, making Craig a superstar everywhere in the world (except, bafflingly, the U.S.) “Nothing Like This,” his recent collaboration with Bristol-spawned Deep House duo Blonde nods reverently to classic Garage sounds while being firmly state-of-now House. It’s a funky, sexy, loping groove that shows Craig in fantastic voice. He smoothly careens from silky crooning to the trademark rapid-fire delivery honed by keeping pace with skittering Garage beats. It’s an aural blast of summer in the springtime.
Blondes have more fun.
