Communion Records
While on the surface, Lucy Rose sits comfortably in the English female folk singer category, her music has always had something extra.
From the first 20 seconds of Red Face (the shape-shifting opening track from her 2012 debut LP Like I Used To) the inventive dynamism which sets Rose apart from her contemporaries is clear.
Following a burst of creativity between 2012 and 2019, Rose took a lengthy hiatus for the birth of her first child (who features on the track Interlude II), and then to recover from resulting health issues so serious that she was unable to walk or breathe without severe pain (let alone sit at a piano) for many months.
It would therefore have been understandable if Rose’s return was a little on the sombre side – she has had plenty to reflect on, after all. But the album Rose and producer Kwes crafted following these momentous life events (and then recorded in a mere two days) is full of life, and Lucy’s boldest effort to date.
While those recent experiences have clearly shaped the work, they never weigh it down.
On Could You Help Me, Rose asks ‘Could you fit me in your busy day?’ before declaring ‘Now I’m learning how terribly lonely illness is’. But there is a lightness of touch, a deftness in the arrangement of the track, so that it practically skips through its sub-three minute arrangement.
While there is introspection and beauty to be found here, the most rewarding moments on the album are the regular forays into jazz, trip-hop and chamber pop. Rose has expanded her palette in such an organic manner that it feels like the most honest presentation of her true musical spirit to date.
By the time closing track The Racket has reached it’s free-form, heavy-grooving crescendo, it’s clear that Rose and her band of regular collaborators are now reaching the height of their powers. Long may they continue.
Matthew Ambrose presents Under The Radar on Tuesday evening at 7pm on Abbey104. Broadcasting on 104.7FM and online at abbey104.com.
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