is what I listen to now. I like both musics for their energy and their emotion. I relate to the beats PJ and Smiley use. We work real patterns." According to critic Martin Pearson, the record owes as much to the singer's jazz vocals as it does to the hardcore production, adding that it "veers between dancefloor destruction and sparkling acappella ambience." According to Eshun, the sharp contrast between the elements in Nicolette's sound were unique for the resultant "distinct lack of dancefloor fusion", with music clattering ahead of the languid vocals. "I like to use a lot of space in my music", Nicolette explained. "It makes people listen and I can tell a story through a mood which leaves you open to hear what you want to hear. I prefer songs which set up an atmosphere rather than songs which tell you about your emotions, like, you've got to be free or peaceful or whatever." Muggs adds that although the singer's tracks were typically tough for the Shut Up and Dance catalogue, her contrasting voice illustrated "how deep the smooth soul-jazz streams in soundsystem culture ran, and how these streams were not antithetical to the rougher, darker sounds around them, but part of the same cultural machine". The album consists of self-penned torch songs, described by writer Simon Reynolds as "bittersweet" in style. Nicolette's lyrics incorporate a stream-of-consciousness approach, while some of the record's songs engage in political commentary. She rejected autobiographical interpretations of the material, instead considering the album to be what Eshun described as "an exploration of universal situations". Muggs writes that although the album's music had no precedent, the "mischief", lyrical philosophy Nicolette's "deep jazz undertow" are "absolutely infused" into the British breakbeat rave sound it exemplifies. "Single Minded People" features samples from George Kranz's song "Din Daa Daa", while according to Eshun, the contemporary single "Wicked Mathematics" featured Nicolette's most dramatic "heightened use of space" up to that point, adding: "It seems to breathe between the friction of music and vocals." Release and reception Now Is Early was released in the United Kingdom on 27 April 1992 by Shut Up and Dance Records, but was commercially unsuccessful. Some critics thought the record was unusually intimate or melodic for the hard-edged label. Shut Up and Dance also released Now Is Early in Germany in conjunction with Rough Trade Records, while PJ and Smiley sent ambient techno