The obvious draw in to this record is Lianne La Havas' voice. Her vocals are crisp, clean, and smooth all at once and her ability to hit various ranges makes listening to her sing exciting. I love how this album stays soulful while exploring different sounds as well. The more upbeat tracks (Unstoppable and What You Don't Do) mixed in with the ballad love songs (Wonderful and Good Goodbye) provide listeners with the opportunity to hear different sides of Lianne, yet the album still remains seamless and on point with every track you listen to. Hope you all enjoy this one!
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Immediately upon pressing play on this album I was hit with the most obvious comparison: Janelle Monae. I just kept getting those vibes throughout the album. That said, where Monae goes funky, La Havas goes folky. It makes for a nice contrast and I'm a fan of Monae and now Las Havas as well.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I noticed throughout the album is the quality of the recording. It just sounds fantastic. Good sound can propel an otherwise good album into greatness. Unfortunately, this album didn't quite get there for me. The second half just couldn't hold my interest - which was a bit of a surprise given how incredibly good the opening track, Unstoppable, is. I know that La Havas has been around for a bit, but this still feels to me like an artist coming into her own. For that reason I'm excited to see where she goes next and will definitely listen to the albums she puts out in the future.
Other than the opening track, I liked Green and Gold a lot - it strangely sounds a lot like Weird Fishes. Midnight was also one of my favorite songs on the record.
A great choice, but not an album I can see myself listening to a ton in the future. That said, you've introduced me to a new artist who I'll definitely be checking out in the coming years when she puts out new stuff.
I think my favorite song on the whole album was Wonderful. It was more laid back and stood out from the rest of the tracks in my opinion. I'm always a fan of soft piano, and I think La Havas' voice complimented the instrumentation on this track. It almost reminded me of a song from that Submotion Orchestra album I suggested earlier this year. Another favorite of mine was Tokyo. I have heard that Tokyo can be one of the loneliest cities, despite its huge population. I'm not sure if that's what she was trying to convey with her lyrics, but it made me think so. I think I mainly liked the slower more gentle songs, but the more upbeat tracks like Unstoppable still shined through. I liked that her voice reached several highs and lows throughout the entire album.
ReplyDeleteAll that said, I feel like I'm having some problems with this album that a lot of people had with my last album. It's a very good LP, but it's not all that adventurous. I haven't really listened to much Soul/R&B, but you probably could have told me this was any soul singer and I would believe you. I really liked how so many genres were incorporated into this album, though.
Very pleasant listen. This was definitely a feel good album that helped get me through the week.
So I believe I have mentioned before that I'm typically not into soul music. "Typical" being the operative word here, as I this is one of a few albums that I find very listenable!
ReplyDeleteLianne's voice is truly magical. I could listen to her sing for hours. Songs like "What You Don't Do" are extremely catchy and honestly just make me happy. I also like when she adds in elements that I don't expect, like the sonic chorus of "Never Get Enough"
Some of the arrangements on this album seems a little goofy to me. I mean, this album is a happy one overall, but not in a way that these elements fit. This criticism is hard to pin down. It shows up "Midnight" with this almost tacky brass fanfare that appears a couple of times.
I occasionally come to this album when I'm feeling unstressed and just want something to vibe to. This was a nice pick!
This was one of the better releases from last year. The arrangements are all top notch, and Lianne's voice is stunning. My favorite track on the album was definitely Midnight (followed closely by Never Get Enough). I loved the dynamics whether it was her nice voice over a soft drum beat and quiet bassline, and the dense instrumentation over the choruses. I also thought the album's production was great. Everything sounded crystal clear, and everything felt sonically in place, even in the lush instrumentation at some parts.
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoyed the album, I felt that the album didn't venture into much unexplored territory. The album was very good for what it was, but sometimes I felt the music wasn't offering a whole lot of 'new' stuff. I don't think anything about the album made it really made is stand out other than it just being good music, and while that's not a bad thing, it's not really a good thing either. I don't know, there wasn't really a point in this album where I just thought, "Wow, this is really something else."
Overall, I still enjoyed the album, and have revisited quite a few times. Definitely one of the better releases last year, but I can't be sure how much this album will hold up over the next few months. It's great for putting on nice music when you have some friends over that like Soul. I definitely see myself listening to her future releases, and I'm excited to see where she progresses from here.
Nice pick!
While soul music continues to be more difficult genre for me to enjoy, I did like this modern soul album more than the dated-sounded Lauryn Hill album you chose last time. Regardless of the content or style of the music, anything that is produced this well is going to be fun to listen to. Pretty much the whole album I was just sitting in awe of how incredible everything sounded. It was one of few times I've felt like splurging on my nice headphones was worth every cent.
ReplyDeleteThe instrumentation does a wonderful job of always staying interesting and inventive but never overpowering Lianne's voice, except in "Grow". It worked a bit better on "Never Get Enough" but I still can't say I'm a huge fan. Though the drums in the chorus were ambitious, the song as a whole just ended up sounding strange and disjointed to me. My favorite tracks were probably "Unstoppable", which made me feel like I really could do anything when I listened to it, "Green & Gold", which I loved the lyrics of, and "Wonderful", which for some reason kept reminding me of St. Vincent.
Overall this was a very artful record with an impressive variety of sounds that I can't believe didn't get garner more prominent acclaim last year. Though I still appreciate this genre much more technically than viscerally, this is a creative and stunning album that I'm very glad I listened to.
Oh, I forgot to say something important. "What You Don't Do" lyrically sounds like a sister song to Paramore's "Proof". Exact same theme, very similar word choice at parts. p cool
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