Now is not the best time to be releasing new pop-soul music. Adele The Almighty has returned and is breaking even more records left, right and centre, and that’s before her next album is even released. But there is another pop-soul artist more than worthy of your attention: Sweden’s Seinabo Sey.
You may even have heard of her already, thanks to the remix
of her track Younger by a certain
Norwegian DJ, Kygo. Younger, in its
original form, is the opener on her debut album ‘Pretend’, providing a suitable
introduction to her upbeat crossover sound as well as her rich, husky vocal
that’s heavy with emotion.
If there’s one thing this singer can do, it’s apply her
vocals to a whole range of styles. The title track has a dramatic, electronic
pulse akin to V V Brown or Neneh Cherry; both Hard Time and Easy feature
throbbing hand-clap beats reminiscent of Adele’s Rolling In The Deep and Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Really Care About Us; whilst Words is all frantic string stabs, whirling piano and hypnotic
percussive beats; and Who is a
vibrant take on funk. Throughout the album, there are elements of pop, soul,
disco, gospel, R&B and more. You’d perhaps expect nothing less from someone
from Swedish-Gambian descent – her music pairs the nagging melodies of the
former tradition, with the rhythmic percussion of Africa. There’s certainly
more warmth here than your typical icy cool Scandi songstress.
The mix of styles and genres makes for some exciting tracks,
but they’re interspersed with some pedestrian pop. Poetic for instance will please fans of Emeli Sandé, whilst Sorry is a weary yet forgettable ballad
and Still revolves around Ed
Sheeran-esque guitar lines. You is
the pick of the ballads here, with its raw and emotive use of vocoder, whilst
closer Burial (a response to her
father’s death) makes a grand and personal statement.
Still, Sey is at her best singing forceful, punchy,
experimental tracks and that’s not quite sustained here. There’s certainly
potential for a boundary pushing artist to break out, but for now a little more
focus in her sound is required to iron out the inconsistency.
3/5
* Pretend
* Easy
* Words
Listen: ‘Pretend’ is out now.