Albums of the week: Richard Ashcroft, Yoko Ono and Neneh Cherry

Dean Chalkley

Richard Ashcroft - Natural Rebel

(BMG)

**

Dean Chalkley

Richard Ashcroft’s last solo album, These People, was released in 2016 after a six-year hiatus. It received mixed reviews: while Ashcroft’s ardent political bite won praise, his forgettable melodies did not and the anticipation and excitement of Ashcroft’s return fell largely flat.

For fans expecting a similarly prolonged wait until his next release, there was surprise earlier this year when the announcement of a new album emerged. Yet those hoping this new release might address the issues of his last, or even see the former-Verve-frontman back to his early solo best, will once again be disappointed.

Natural Rebel couldn’t be further away from Ashcroft’s acclaimed early material in either style or sentiment. Save for the album’s punkish closer Money Money, which has a strong arrangement, passionate belief and an underlying message, the rest of the album is lacking in all three. Insipid sonnets sit oddly next to jauntier 1980s country-rock outings, all of which feel like another abrupt about-turn for Ashcroft stylistically.

Opener All My Dreams and the orchestral Birds Fly feel like the most accomplished songs on an album that otherwise stands out only for how innocuous it is. Where attempts to marry Ashcroft’s old and new styles occur, like on That’s How Strong, the results are mixed and often get lost amidst alt-rock pastiches such as Born to Be Strangers. For an artist once known for his distinctive melodies and passion, his latest stands out only for its anonymity: there is little in the way of rebellion here.

by Elizabeth Aubrey

Neneh Cherry- Broken Politics

(Smalltown Supersound)

****

EVEN at the height of her chart success, Neneh Cherry was a musical maverick. On only her fifth solo album in three decades, she is still experimenting with off-kilter rhythms and a vocal style that’s half-singing, half-rapping. Produced by electronic music maven Four Tet, Broken Politics is a frequently mesmerising collaboration on which Cherry’s free-flowing yet reflective lyrics bring a warmth to the strange textures and shuffling beats. Stark and languorous arrangements are occasionally interrupted by bigger sounds, including the blaring interstellar groove of Natural Skin Deep. While it’s her daughter, Mabel, who’s currently keeping up the family tradition of hit singles, Cherry hasn’t lost her touch in the studio.

by Andre Paine

Yoko Ono - Warzone

(Chimera)

***

Say what you like about Yoko Ono, she has a lovely sense of humour. At 85, the Japanese conceptual artist has decided to revisit key moments from her recording career for the benefit of anyone who needs to clear a room fast. The opening track (from 1995’s Rising) features elephants trumpeting dolefully, machine-gunfire, and Ono intoning: “Warzone. Warzone We’re living in a warzone. It’s a warzone!!!” There was a certain screamy charm to the original Why, the opening cut from Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band (1970); post-punk before there was any punk to be post about. The version here is merely post-traumatic. Woman Power, a soulful feminist firebomb from 1973, is subject to similar asset-stripping. “Make no mistake about it brothers/We will have the power to move the mountains!” Yes, I should think even mountains will want to get out the way of this one. It ends with an ambient Imagine, her late husband John Lennon’s anthem for peace (for which Ono was given a writing credit last year). Is it possible to like an artist more for making an album you would happily never have to hear again?

by Richard Godwin

MØ- Forever Neverland

(RCA)

****

Some may be unaware that Karen Marie Ørsted, a 30-year-old former punk rocker from Denmark, is one of the voices of two of the biggest pop hits of recent years. Lean On and Cold Water, both by Major Lazer and the latter also featuring Justin Bieber, were key examples of the pop song as blockbuster movie, with multiple names in the title credits. It’s doubtful that MØ can reach similar heights on her own, which is a shame, as her second solo album is bursting with strong melodies and innovative electronic production, from the alien flute solo on Way Down to the stuttering drums and scratchy wind instruments of If It’s Over. The slight rasp of her singing voice adds to the perception that she isn’t aiming for chart-topping perfection but attempting something more interesting, and better.

by David Smyth

Allysha Joy - Acadie: Raw

(Gondwana Records)

***

AllyshaJoy is a young singer/songwriter and keyboardist from Australia who has been turning heads as frontwoman for neo-soul collective 30/70. This arresting debut continues the latter’s blend of gossamer poetics, heady belligerence and hip-hop-infused jazz, while revealing Joy as a woman with something to say, and a voice — husky and sweet — that commands attention while she says it. Opener FNFL acknowledges the traditional owners of Australia and the struggle for indigenous rights over unhurried grooves that platform the message; Know Your Power, a shout-out to the Sisterhood, is lifted by shape-shifting synths. Elsewhere, songs inspired by ex-lovers, the environment and UK rapper/activist/pin-up Akala are textured, honest, if occasionally overearnest. Big things await. She plays Gondwana 10 Festival at the Roundhouse, NW1, tomorrow.

by Jane Cornwell

​Amira Kheir​ - Mystic Dance

(Sterns Music)

****

Amira Kheir is a London-based singer of Sudanese and Italian heritage. Mystic Dance, her third album, is an assured mix of traditional influences, a contemporary sensibility and classy production. The opener, Amwaj (Waves), composed by Kheir, is a reflective Arabic rock song with a vision from an ancient land where invaders and civilisations come and go. The spectacular pyramids of Meroë appear on the cover. There are delicate oud (lute) lines from Nadir Ramzy and in the subsequent Manaok (Forbidden), some spacey guitar work from Tal Janes. Most of the songs are in Arabic, but three are in English which aren’t the weak spot they so often can be. Amira Kheir is a talent and appears at Servant Jazz Quarters, N16 on October 31.

by Simon Broughton

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