An diversely eclectic, genre-hopping, powerfully emotional third LP of soul, funk, hip-hop, rock, indie, country, house and pop by the Ipswich, UK born American, now Washington DC-based artist, produced by Jack Antonoff, with songs facing fears as a young young, queer, black person in rural America, and inspired by the likes of Parliament Funkadelic, Fleetwood Mac, Teddy Pendergrass, and Neil Young. It’s an album of loud-and-quiet landscape, and hard to pin down, such of the breadth of styles and potential audience tastes, but oddly fascinating, from the melancholy, rich guitars of opener Too Much, the funk-hip hop of Hit It, Quit It, the smooth rolling, deep voice delivery but Fleetwood Mac feel of Sober, to the gentle, contemplative country feel of Baltimore. Already within those first four songs is a huge range, before the power pop of Lie 95. Then comes Wants Needs, which has perhaps an influence from Sonic Youth. Lovers is a dark, sweaty house-y clubbing number. Perhaps the most powerful and personal track is 17, a stripped-back, soulful singer-songwriter number morphing into rock, with what feels like heartfelt memories: “I’m only seventeen, momma / Pushed a Chevy to the brink, kinda / I’m sweatin’ through the seats, Donna/ It’s hot as hell, and I don’t see quite where I’m goin’ / I’m staring through the ceiling / Starting to think that I don’t need friends / Sometimes I don’t know where I belong / The first time that I felt impending doom / Was realizing I’m too black for the room/ I was pushing it down, pushing it down, just for you, for you.” Another car reference comes full rock bonanza Backseat Banton. A heady journey driving in many directions with the full kitchen sink. Out on 4AD.
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