“It’s time to level up,” proclaims Austin’s Moody Bank$ on the penultimate track of FEELING COLORS. Following 2020’s Full Blunts & Full Moons, the California native’s sophomore EP does just that. Taking full advantage of the R&B up-and-comer’s throaty alto voice, “Easy Bake” rests on croons as sweet as the titular toy oven, while harmonies build a dreamscape on closer “Awe of You.” Alternatively, the singer slides into a Doja Cat-adjacent warble with “Joy Ride” to act as the responsible angel on her shoulder (“Time to pick your shit up now/ Get the rent up now“). If not evident in the EP’s stylized capitalization, the influence of BLK ODYSSY principal Juwan Elcock, alongside co-producer Noah Fendz (Jurnt Entertainment), clarifies in slinky basslines and orchestral flourishes. With “Red Lights,” fellow locally affiliated track-crafter Charles Moon (Thank You for Sweating) smothers the song in honey, trudging Bank$’s alluring, deepened vocals through Dillon Randolph’s thick bass. Cementing Moody Bank$’s prominence as a talent to watch, FEELING COLORS equally spotlights the production heavyweights flowing from Central Texas’ watering hole.
This article appears in September 30 • 2022.