Denise Sherwood

★★★★ This Road ON-U SOUND/EVERGREEN. DL/LP An On-U family affair, produced by papa Adrian. “I am a queen of very rare kind,” affirms Denise Sherwood on Won’t Bow Down. Her upbringing as ‘daughter-of’ amid the hectic Anglo-Caribbean runnings at various On-U home-studio HQs certainly puts her musical pedigree beyond reproach. Offered the chance to join the late-’00s Slits reunion, as well as The Pogues’ touring band, she chose uni, biding her time. A wise move, as she here finally breaks cover with an assured debut. There’s audibly been paternal guidance in the zesty production, plus contributions from ‘uncles’, including Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s rap on junglist opener Music Shall Live, Mark Stewart’s authorship of the spooked Ghost Heart, and various beats from late Dub Syndicate sticksman Style Scott. Sherwood Jr emerges as a poised, connective singer, compelling during Let Me In’s Portishead-y orchestral drama, but also delivering frequent jolts of empowerment that bring an invigorating generational-slash-feminist freshness to the On-U story. Andrew Perry