Don West - Give Me All Your Love (2025)

Sydney’s DON WEST acquaints himself with different modes and eras of soul music on his debut album. Co-written with producer Nathan Hawes, GIVE ME ALL YOUR LOVE channels classic Marvin Gaye and Al Green as much as the modern Daptone Records catalog. Think dripping reverb, funky horns, sultry harmonies, and other old-school touches, captured on tape with vintage microphones. Yet, after establishing his thoughtful lover man persona, WEST branches out later in the album. “So High” adds jazzy keys and an extended sax solo, while the slow-mo, soft-focus vibes (and title) of “Dreamin” can’t help but evoke Donnie & Joe Emerson’s 1979 cult classic Dreamin’ Wild. The tone switches again for the closing “Queen of the World,” a Chet Faker-esque feat of rumpled R&B singing and bedroom beats complete with a sassy guest turn from Meg Mac. After breaking out online thanks to his luxurious, romantic vocals on the 2024 singles “Small Change” and “Friends,” it’s refreshing to hear WEST use his first full-length as a testing ground for varied ways of occupying the genre he loves.