– THE QUIET RIOT –

My God am I ready for this new Lianne La Havas album, kids.

She first announced the self-titled full-length (her third) back in May and, since then, we’ve had three singles – the excellent hip-hop inspired Bittersweet, slow jam Paper Thin and funk flex Can’t Fight.

I told myself I’d wait to hear the full thing and then review something but, fuck it, Lianne’s hit me up with a Radiohead cover and I’m just not gonna hold myself back anymore.

On Weird Fishes she manages to do the seemingly impossible and make Thom Yorke sexy. And, actually, a little less weird come to that. Despite covering a Radiohead song with ‘weird’ in the title. And a decidedly weird grasp of the rules of basic English grammar.

She tries, of course. She has to throw that single bar of the original’s 2x speed drum pattern at the beginning, doesn’t she?

However, from that point forward, what she lays on us is a mellifluous, melodious treat of a track in which La Havas’ tone is just beautiful. And backed up tastefully by bass, drums, synths and backing vocals that are smoother than a baby’s proverbial.

Keep listening to the end, though, as the track builds to a crescendo so moving, Johnny Greenwood would probably enjoy doing some Creep-style guitar ‘cha-chink’s over the top of it.

If you like this try my review of Light by Michael Kiwanuka.

Lianne La Havas will be released (finally!!) on July 17th via Warner Records.

HEAR MORE HERE

GREG FOAT: NIKINAKINU
MULATU ASTATKE + BLACK JESUS EXPERIENCE: TO KNOW WITHOUT KNOWING
CARLOS NIÑO + MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON: PART VI – INTO ETERNITY
LOELASH: CHAOS

CEASE-FIRE

You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the Future Jazz Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

Until next time, love and noise.

– SV –