Julie Lamb has performed with various ensembles as well as her own band. Perhaps a blues singer at heart she obviously relishes a much wider stage and doesn’t rest on her laurels with this release, rather comes out firing on all cylinders. The heart-warmingly over-the-top packaging (a hand-cut pack of cards with lyrics on them, an ‘Ordinary Days’ diorama and bespoke cardboard box cover!) shows the thought, care, fun and enthusiasm put into this album. As the title suggests, the songs address various aspects of modern life – the little moments and situations that shape our lives. ‘When you live in Wellington you wear summer clothes and winter socks,’ tells you where she hails from, a regular performer around the city’s live traps. An a cappella song, sung in the round, in the middle of an MoR bluesy/rock/funk album – a pleasant surprise! Lamb’s singing is top quality and the group of talented musicians she has assembled shine, playing as a tight and sensitive group, never stepping on anyone else’s toes. There are some standout guitar solos from Matt Fitzpatrick and Callum Hazlitt-Black’s bass playing brings life to everything it touches, with basslines that are both solid and melodic. It’s great to hear some funky pop-rock with good old-fashioned bvs, and horn parts too. A class act made all the better by the evident joie de vivre it encapsulates and projects.