September 2015 - Music
Album of the Month - Jess Glynne
Her recent chart-topper “Hold My Hand” provides a fairly accurate template for Glynne’s debut album, as regards both methods and themes. It’s a record of heartbreak cauterised by hope, so alongside the routine tears and recrimination is a recurrent element of recovery and optimism that sets it apart from most other soul-diva offerings. “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself” could be the project’s mission statement, with Glynne’s darkly tremulous delivery a kind of turbo-powered warble that conveys strength overcoming tribulation, a message under-scored by the rising figure of the backing vocals. The Clean Bandit collaboration “Real Love” is a routine follow-up to their earlier hit “Rather Be”. Elsewhere, Emeli Sandé adds sprinkles to “Saddest Vanilla."
It's a balance she strikes considerably well on her first full-length album I Cry When I Laugh. As the title suggests, it's a mix of emotions, blending heartbroken lyrics with uplifting melodies. The overall formula isn't particularly forward-thinking, neither is it pushing the fringes of pop, but somehow it comes across as strikingly distinct. Jess has taken a classic blueprint - all swooping strings, a disco riff here, and a house-inflected beat there - and carved a sound that is both familiar but unmistakably hers. Although I Cry When I Laugh is charged with sentimental introspection throughout, here it is tediously obvious and at odds with Jess's no-nonsense attitude. It's a shame because it's the only misfire on what is, overall, an accomplished and uplifting debut album. My rating 8/10.
Her recent chart-topper “Hold My Hand” provides a fairly accurate template for Glynne’s debut album, as regards both methods and themes. It’s a record of heartbreak cauterised by hope, so alongside the routine tears and recrimination is a recurrent element of recovery and optimism that sets it apart from most other soul-diva offerings. “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself” could be the project’s mission statement, with Glynne’s darkly tremulous delivery a kind of turbo-powered warble that conveys strength overcoming tribulation, a message under-scored by the rising figure of the backing vocals. The Clean Bandit collaboration “Real Love” is a routine follow-up to their earlier hit “Rather Be”. Elsewhere, Emeli Sandé adds sprinkles to “Saddest Vanilla."
It's a balance she strikes considerably well on her first full-length album I Cry When I Laugh. As the title suggests, it's a mix of emotions, blending heartbroken lyrics with uplifting melodies. The overall formula isn't particularly forward-thinking, neither is it pushing the fringes of pop, but somehow it comes across as strikingly distinct. Jess has taken a classic blueprint - all swooping strings, a disco riff here, and a house-inflected beat there - and carved a sound that is both familiar but unmistakably hers. Although I Cry When I Laugh is charged with sentimental introspection throughout, here it is tediously obvious and at odds with Jess's no-nonsense attitude. It's a shame because it's the only misfire on what is, overall, an accomplished and uplifting debut album. My rating 8/10.
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