Born to a Jamaican father and a Swedish mother and raised in Stockholm, singer-songwriter Stephen Simmonds proves on his debut release that he"s perfectly at home getting to the heart of the groove. A solid and, for the most part, soulful album, Spirit Tales displays Simmonds"s reverence for Stevie Wonder"s bittersweet, modulating minor chord swells and love credos--in "Judgment Day," Simmonds even croons "Love is in need of love today," echoing Wonder"s classic Songs in the Key of Life opener. The whole affair gets almost too derivative at times, borrowing dollops of Stevie (the hook on "Universe" mirrors "Village Ghetto Land" in the most obvious way), as well as dabs from the Beatles (the piano loop from "One" sounds just like the intro on "Let It Be") and smidgens from D"Angelo (the syncopated "If I Was Your Man," though it makes sense since the ubiquitous Raphael Saadiq co-wrote it). But ultimately, Simmonds pulls through and comes across as a passionate, driven performer who will, hopefully, find his own style in albums to come. --Sylvia W. Chan