Now with neither Womack nor Womack…

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[6.29]

Anthony Easton: I wish there was another grade for these tight, well constructed works that fail to be interesting, and don’t have the sheen of the factory floor. It doesn’t excite me, but it doesn’t offend me, and I guess that should be a 5. 
[5]

Alex Ostroff: An empowered strut over chiming piano chords, record scratches and horns, “Mind the Gap” would be the equivalent of India.Arie or Macy Gray’s self-esteem crossover hits if it weren’t for humanizing details and focus on “the incidental things”. How can I not love a song that extolls the virtues of humourous men with warm hands, and proclaims to be “down with Miss Marple for life”? The mandatory 2012 touch of wub-wub is barely noticeable and although the bridge gets dangerously close to treacly, Nabiha manages to avoid crossing the line. Just in time for snowfall, a song that makes me feel like March.
[8]

Iain Mew: I have had the chorus to this in my head for days now, which counts for something, even if it was in an imaginary form where it was merged seamlessly with B.o.B.’s “So Good”.
[7]

Brad Shoup: One thing I know about Americans: when they’re not using “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON” as an image macro, they love saying “Mind the Gap”. They’ve cooled on Burger King, though, so “have it your way” could hit or miss. This is the second song we’re covering today with the word “peachy,” but maybe the only one ever to declare fealty to Jane Marple. I’ve got a weakness for this effortless R&B-inflected pop (see my scores for “Next to Me” and “So Good,” which “Mind the Gap” resembles more than a little). Wubbing continues its conversion from pyrotechnic to aromatherapeutic function, just another element in an expertly-edited staccato pop tune.
[7]

Will Adams: Look on the bright side: it could have just as easily been Jessie J singing.
[5]

Alfred Soto: “Mind The Gap” is as inscrutable to me as “drop the pilot,” but Nabiha’s no-fuss singing and chorus wring empowerment out of phraseology. And I’ve got no trouble with a girl who doesn’t mind dancing on her own if she’s getting empowered in a Burger King. Des’ree didn’t give a shit about incidental things, recall.
[6]

Jonathan Bogart: Her second visit to these shores, and I like it a bit better, but only a bit. Like a lot of similarly forensic reconstructors of historically-bracketed styles of music, she’s got the timbre down but fails to convince me that she’s singing for her life.
[6]