Schmaltzy groove, thy name is Judy. One of those scrappy used vinyl bin records that blows you away, The Other World has a dated quality. From the scat-singing, to the cursed funk bass (check out “The Roadrunner”), to the old-school synths, The Other World is, like peak Steely Dan or Weather Report, a product of the late 70s through and through. Playing frequently in jazz clubs around Chicago since the 70s, Judy Roberts arranged these tracks, sang, and played piano and synths on this, her second album.

As I mentioned, there is a fair amount of dodo-dada scatting on The Other World, which may filter out the squeamish. This works best on the incredible title-track, which hits somewhere between disco and The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Roberts’ high-pitched ba-be-das are the perfect ending for this banger of a song (one heck of a guitar solo in here as well). Later, “It’s Always 4 A.M.” may be The Other World‘s sweetest moment, a soft ballad that allows Roberts to lean into her lounge singer act with great results. Leon Russell’s “Rainbow in Your Eyes” is given the hyper-samba treatment. After sing-talking in her Yapanese, Roberts bobbles the keys around like a hot potato. It’s sick.

The record ends in true jazz-nerd fashion with a take on “Round Midnight”. A straightforward cover, it puts a classy touch on the end of an occasionally silly record. Still, I happen to be the kind of person that The Other World‘s mix of vocal jazz and yacht rock was made for, so I love it.

Listen to The Other World here.